GRICULTURAL 
EDUCATION 


REPORT 

of  a  Deputation  appointed  by  the  Council 

of  University  College,  Reading,  to  visit 

selected  centres  of  agricultural 

education  and  research 

in  Canada  and  in 

the  United 

States. 


Reading 

Published  by  University  College, 
1910. 

PRICE  ONE  SHILLING. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  AGRICULTURAL 
EDUCATION  IN  AMERICA  AND 
IN  ENGLAND  WITH  SPECIAL 
REFERENCE  TO  A  POLICY  OF 
DEVELOPING  THE  WORK  CARRIED 
ON  IN  HIGHER  AGRICULTURAL 
AND  HORTICULTURAL  EDUCATION 
AT  UNIVERSITY  COLLEGE, 
READING,  AND  IN  CONNEXION 
WITH  THE  COUNTIES  WHICH 
CONTRIBUTE  TO  ITS  SUPPORT. 


Report     of    a     Deputation    appointed    by    the    Council 

of     University      College,      Reading,      to     visit     selected 

centres     of     agricultural     education     and     research     in 

Canada,     and     in     the     United    States. 


Reading  : 
Published    by    University    College, 

1910. 
Price    One    Shilling. 


READING   I 
THE    PRESS    OF    E.    POYNDER    AND    SON. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Appointment,  Purpose,  and  Composition  of  the  Deputation  7 

Plan  and  Scope  of  Tour     ....              ...              ...  ...  8 

Acknowledgments                 ...              ...              ...  ...  10 

Scheme  of  the  Report         ...              ...              ...  ...  10 

PART  I.     AGRICULTURE. 

A.  Notes   on    Institutions   visited   in    Canada   and    in    the 

United  States        ...  ...  ...  12-51 

I.  The  Macdonald  College,  St.  Anne  de  Bellevue  ...  12 

General     ...              ...              ...              ...  ...  12 

Buildings  and  Equipment        ...              ...  ...  13 

The  Farm...              ...               ...              ...  ...  13 

Courses  of  Instruction              ...              ...  ...  14 

Summer  Vacation     ...              ...              ...  ...  15 

Fees          ...              ...              ...              ...  ...  15 

Staff          ...              ...              ...              ...  ...  16 

Relations  with  Farmers             ...               ...  ...  17 

II.  The  Central  Experimental  Farm,  Ottawa    ...  ...  18 

III.  The  Ontario  Agricultural  College,  Guelph  ...  20 

General     ...              ...              ...              ...  ...  20 

Finance     ...              ...              ...              ...  ...  20 

Buildings  and  Equipment        ...              ...  ...  22 

The  Farm...              ...              ...              ...  ...  22 

Courses  of  Instruction              ...              ...  ...  23 

Fees          ...              ...              ...              ...  ...  25 

Staff          ...              ...              ...              ...  ...  25 

Conditions  of  Students'  Entrance            ...  ...  25 

Number  of  Students                 ...              ...  ...  26 

Stock-Judging  Competition     ...              ...  ...  26 

Relations  with  Farmers             ...              ...  ...  26 

IV.  The  Agricultural  Policy  of  the  Government  of  Ontario  29 

The  Guelph  College  of  Agriculture        ...  ...  29 

The  Veterinary  College            ...              ...  ...  30 

Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Societies...  ...  30 

Live  Stock  Branch    ...              ...              ...  ...  30 

Dairy  Branch             ...              ...              ...  ...  30 

Fruit  Branch             ...              ...              ...  ...  31 

Colonisation  Branch...               ...               ...  ...  31 

Statistical  and  Publications  Branch           ...  ...  31 

Institutes  for  (a)  Farmers  and  (b)  Women  ...  31 


PAGE 

V.  Cornell   University    (including   the    New    York    State 

College  of  Agriculture)       ...              ...              ...  34 

The  University         ...              ...              ...              ...  34 

The  College  of  Agriculture     ...              ...              ...  35 

Buildings  and  Equipment        ...              ...              ...  36 

The  Farm                  ...              ...              ...              ...  36 

Courses  of  Instruction             ...              ...              ...  37 

Fees          ...              ...              ...              ...              ...  38 

Staff          ...              ...              ...              ...               ..  39 

Students  and  Statistics              ...              ...              ...  40 

Relations  with  Farmers  and  the  Public  ...              ...  40 

VI.  Wisconsin     University    (including     the      College     of 

Agriculture)          ...              ...              ...              ...  42 

The  University         ...              ...              ...              ...  42 

The  College  of  Agriculture     ...              ...              ...  43 

The  Farm                 ...              ...              ...              ...  44 

Courses  of  Instruction             ...              ...              ...  44 

Fees          ...             ...              ...              ...              ...  47 

Staff          ...             ...              ...             ...             ...  47 

Statistics  of  Students                ...              ...              ...  48 

Conditions  of  Admission          ...              ...              ...  48 

Relations  with  the  Government                ...               ...  48 

Relations  with  Farmers  and  the  Public   ...              ...  49 

The  Experimental  Association                  ...              ...  50 

B.  Observations  upon  Agricultural  Education  in  England 

and  in  America     ...  ...  ...  52-107 

Introductory              ...              ...              ...              ...  52 

Differences     in    the     Conditions     of     Agricultural 

Education  in  England  and  in  America             ...  53 

Climate...              ...              ...              ...  53 

Economic  Position  of  Agriculture      ...              ...  55 

Relative  Scope  of  Universities  and  Conditions  of 

their  Success     ...              ...              ...              ...  56 

Ability  and  Attitude  of  Farmers         ...              ...  59 

Value    of    American     Experience    in    Agricultural 

Education.     Scope  of  Practical  Suggestions  ...  62 
Department    of    Agriculture    and     Horticulture   at 

University  College,  Reading            ...               ...  64 

General                  ...              ...              ...              ...  64 

Buildings  and  Equipment    ...              ...               ...  65 

Farm,  Fruit  Station,  and  Gardens        ...              ...  66 

Courses  of  Instruction  66 


PAGE 

Staff     ...             ...             ...              ...  ...  68 

Students                ...              ...              ...  ...  68 

Extension  Work  :    Experiments          ...  ...  70 

Two-fold  Nature  of  the  Problem            ...  ...  71 

Questions  of  Internal  Policy  ...              ...  ...  73 

Staff      ...              ...              ...              ...  ...  73 

Curriculum            ...              ...              ...  ...  75 

Control              ...              ...               ...  ...  75 

Character  of  Courses        ...              ...  ...  76 

The  Teaching  of  Science...              ...  ...  78 

Admission  and  Entrance  of  Students...  ...  83 

The  Farm             ...              ...              ...  ...  85 

Experiments  and  Research  ...              ...  ...  86 

Buildings               ...              ...              ...  ...  88 

After  Careers  of  Students    ...              ...  ...  89 

Questions  of  External  Policy  ...              ...  ...  90 

The  Opportunity  of  the  College         ...  ...  90 

Knowledge  of  Local  Conditions      ...  ...  93 

Co-operation  with  County  Councils  ...  94 

Institution  of  an  Extension  Section  ...  99 

Summary  of  Suggestions          ...               ...  ...  1 02 

Concluding  Remarks                 ...                ..  ...  104 

PART  II.     OTHER  ASPECTS  OF  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

A.  Note  on  Libraries           ...              ...               ...  ...  108 

McGill  University  Library,  Montreal     ...  ...  110 

Macdonald  College  Library,  St.  Anne  de  Bellevue...  1 1 1 

Toronto  University  Library     ...               ...  ...  112 

Cornell  University  Library      ...               ...  ...  112 

Concluding  Remarks                 ...              ...  ...  114 

B.  Note  on  the  Teaching  of  Domestic  Science  to  Women 

in  Canada               ...               ...               ...  ...  1 16 

The  School  of  Household  Science  at  Macdonald 

College                   ...              ...               ...  ...  117 

The  Department  of  Home  Economics,  Guelph, 

(Ontario  Agricultural  College)             ...  ...  120 

Concluding  Remarks  ...  ...  ...  123 

C.  Note  on  Residence  Systems  for  Students      ...  ...  126 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

The  Council  of  University  College,  Reading,  desire 
to  state  that  the  sending  of  a  Deputation  on  their  behalf 
to  the  Universities  of  Canada  and  of  the  United  States 
was  made  possible  owing  to  an  offer  on  the  part  of  two 
of  their  members,  Mr.  Leonard  Sutton  and  Mr.  Alfred 
Palmer,  who  most  generously  undertook  to  defray  jointly 
all  expenses  in  connexion  with  the  tour. 

The  drafting  of  the  following  Report  was  undertaken 
by  Principal  Childs,  and  carried  out  by  him  in  consultation 
with  the  other  members  of  the  Deputation,  whose  obser- 
vations and  unanimous  views  it  embodies.  The  Report 
has  been  presented  to  the  Council  of  University  College, 
and  is  now  printed  and  published  by  their  direction. 


J.  HERBERT  BENYON, 

President  of  University  fyllege, 

OWEN   RIDLEY, 

Chairman  of  Council. 


2  2nd^  1910. 


APPOINTMENT  OF  DEPUTATION. 


REPORT  of  the  Deputation  appointed  by  the  Council 
of  University  College,  Reading,  to  visit  Universities 
of  Canada  and  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


APPOINTMENT,    PURPOSE,    AND    COMPOSITION 
OF    THE    DEPUTATION. 

On    March    22,    1910,    the   Council  of  University 
College,  Reading,  passed  the  following  Resolution  : 

"That  a  Deputation  from  this  Council  and  College 
be  hereby  constituted  and  appointed  with  authority  to 
visit  during  May  and  June,  1910,  selected  centres  of 
agricultural  education  and  research  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada  with  the  object  of  collecting  information,  to 
be  presented  in  a  report  and  in  other  ways,  such  as  may 
be  of  use  in  developing  the  efficiency  of  agricultural  and 
horticultural  education  and  research  ;  and  that  the  Depu- 
tation be  also  requested  to  investigate,  as  may  be  convenient, 
and  report  upon  any  other  aspects  of  University  and 
College  development  which  may  appear  deserving  of 
note." 


8  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

The    members    of    the     Deputation    appointed    in 
accordance  with  this  Resolution  were : 

MR.  LEONARD  SUTTON,  J.P.  Member  of  the  Council  of 
University  College,  Reading ;  member  of  the  Firm  of 
Sutton  &  Sons,  Reading ;  member  of  the  Royal  Agricul- 
tural College,  Cirencester;  Fellow  of  the  Linnasan  Society  ; 
and  member  of  the  Town  Council  of  the  County  Borough 
of  Reading. 

MR.  E.  D.  MANSFIELD,  M.A.  Trinity  College, 
Oxford,  J.P.  Member  of  the  Council  of  University 
College,  Reading  ;  member  of  the  Berkshire  County 
Council  ;  and  Chairman  of  the  Berkshire  Higher 
Education  Committee. 

PRINCIPAL  W.  M.  CHILDS,  M.A.  Keble  College, 
Oxford.  Member  of  the  Council  of  University 
College,  Reading  ;  member  of  the  Education  Committees 
for  Reading,  Berkshire,  and  Hampshire. 

PROFESSOR  FREDERICK  KEEBLE,  M.A.,  Sc.D.  Caius 
College,  Cambridge.  Member  of  the  Council  of 
University  College,  Reading  ;  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of 
Science  ;  and  Editor  of  "The  Gardeners'  Chronicle." 

MR.  R.  V.  O.  HART-SYNNOT,  D.S.O.,  B.Sc.  London. 
Director  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and 
Horticulture,  University  College,  Reading  ;  and  member 
of  the  Advisory  Board  for  Agricultural  Education, 
Berkshire  Education  Committee. 


PLAN    AND    SCOPE    OF    TOUR. 

The  Deputation  landed  at  Quebec  on  May  13, 
1910,  and  sailed  from  New  York  on  June  11.  The 
duration  of  the  stay  in  America  being  thus  limited,  it 
would  clearly  have  been  unwise  to  attempt  many  visits 
of  inspection.  Only  a  few  institutions  therefore,  were 
visited,  and  these  were  chosen  because  of  their  high 
reputation,  particularly  in  lines  of  work  relating  to  the 
special  mission  of  the  Deputation.  Even  so,  we,  the 


PLAN  OF  TOUR.  9 

members  of  the  Deputation,  desire  to  guard  ourselves  at 
the  outset  against  possible  misconception.  We  do  not 
attempt  in  the  following  pages  to  present  the  reader  with 
a  sufficient  or  final  estimate  of  the  activities  of  any  single 
institution.  The  range  of  Canadian  and  American 
Universities  is  so  wide  and  various,  that  not  only  does 
each  carry  on  many  branches  of  work  which  we  had  no 
opportunity  to  consider,  but  even  the  selected  aspects  and 
departments  studied  with  all  the  energy  at  our  command 
are  far  too  extensive  and  elaborate  to  admit  of  our 
claiming  to  treat  them  with  completeness.  For  example, 
any  attempt  to  describe  exhaustively  the  buildings  which 
we  inspected  would  fill  many  hundreds  of  pages.  We 
must  be  content  to  offer  here  only  a  selection  of  facts  and 
considerations,  calling  attention  more  especially  to  those 
which  seem  to  us  to  have  interest  and  value  for  English 
readers.  We  hope  also  that  our  anxious  care  to  avoid 
error  and  misrepresentation  has  not  been  in  vain. 

The  following  institutions  in  Canada  were  visited  in 
the  order  named  :  the  McGill  University,  Montreal,  and 
the  associated  Macdonald  College,  St.  Anne  de  Bellevue  ; 
the  Central  Experimental  Farm,  Ottawa  ;  the  Ontario 
Agricultural  College,  Guelph.  A  brief  visit  of  inspection 
was  also  paid  to  the  University  of  Toronto. 

The  following  institutions  in  the  United  States  were 
visited  :  Cornell  University  (including  the  New  York 
State  College  of  Agriculture)  ;  and  Wisconsin  University, 
(including  the  College  of  Agriculture).  A  short  visit 
was  also  paid  to  Harvard  University,  and  an  unofficial 
visit  to  Yale  University. 

Both  in  Canada  and  in  the  United  States  the 
Deputation  had  the  advantage  of  numerous  interviews 
with  representative  persons  and  officials  other  than  those 
met  at  Universities.  Several  visits  to  special  farms, 
gardens,  &c.,  were  also  paid. 


io  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

We  wish  to  acknowledge  with  the  most  cordial 
appreciation  the  hospitality  and  courtesy  with  which  we 
were  invariably  received.  The  task  entrusted  to  us, 
though  deeply  interesting,  was  in  a  high  degree  arduous, 
and  it  would  indeed  have  been  attempted  in  vain  without 
the  sympathetic  co-operation  of  the  institutions  visited. 
We  were  met  everywhere  by  a  frank  and  friendly  desire 
to  place  us  in  possession  of  the  facts,  and  to  facilitate  our 
enquiries  in  every  possible  way.  We  were  repeatedly 
indebted  to  the  Presidents  of  the  Universities  visited,  and 
to  Professors  and  Lecturers,  for  personal  courtesies  which 
added  greatly  not  only  to  the  fruitfulness  but  to  the 
pleasure  of  our  tour.  In  Canada  the  Deputation  had  the 
good  fortune  to  secure  the  kind  interest  and  support  of 
His  Excellency  the  Governor  General,  Lord  Grey  ;  and 
our  thanks  are  especially  due  to  him  for  all  his  exertions 
on  our  behalf.  In  the  United  States  our  chief  visit  was 
to  Cornell  University,  and  we  retain  very  pleasant 
memories  of  marked  courtesies  and  attentions  which  we 
received  at  the  hands  of  President  Schurman,  and  of  the 
Acting  Director  of  the  College  of  Agriculture,  Professor 
Webber. 


SCHEME  OF  THE  REPORT. 

In  accordance  with  the  Resolution  quoted  above, 
constituting  the  Deputation,  we  have  arranged  the 
contents  of  our  Report  in  the  following  order  : — 

Part  I.     ^Agriculture. 

A.      Notes  on  Institutions  visited  and  on  inquiries  made 
in  Canada  and  the  United  States  : — 

i.        The  Macdonald  College,  St.  Anne  de  Bellevue. 
ii.       The  Central  Experimental  Farm,  Ottawa, 
in.     The  Ontario  Agricultural  College,  Guelph. 
iv.      The    Agricultural    Policy    of    the    Government    of 
Ontario. 


SCHEME   OF  REPORT.  n 

v.       Cornell  University   (including  the  New  York  State 

College  of  Agriculture). 
vi.      Wisconsin    University    (including    the    College     of 

Agriculture). 

B.      Observations  upon  Agricultural  Education  in  America 
and  in  England  : — 

i.        Introductory. 

ii.  Differences  in  the  conditions  of  agricultural  edu- 
cation in  England  and  in  America. 

in.  The  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Horticulture 
at  University  College,  Reading. 

iv.      Questions  of  Internal  Policy. 

v.       Questions  of  External  Policy. 

vi.      Summary  of  suggestions,  and  concluding  remarks. 

Part  II.      Other  Aspects  of  University  Development. 

A.  Note  on  Libraries. 

B.  Note    on    the    Teaching    of    Domestic    Science    to 

Women  in  Canada. 

C.  Note  on  Residence  Systems  for  Students. 


12  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION. 

PART  I.       AGRICULTURE. 
A. 

NOTES  ON    INSTITUTIONS    VISITED    IN   CANADA    AND    IN 
THE  UNITED  STATES. 

i.  THE  MACDONALD  COLLEGE,  ST.  ANNE  DE  BELLEVUE. 
( i )  General. 

Macdonald  College,  a  new  institution,  has  been 
founded  and  endowed  at  a  cost  of  nearly  a  million 
sterling  by  Sir  William  Macdonald,  one  of  Canada's 
greatest  educational  benefactors.  It  is  not  a  State 
institution,  and  it  does  not  receive  State  grants  of  money. 
Its  object  is  to  meet  the  educational  needs  of  a  com- 
munity mainly  rural.  Hence  it  comprises  three  sections  : 
(i)  A  School  of  Agriculture  ;  (2)  A  School  for  Teachers; 
and  (3)  A  School  of  Household  Science  for  Women. 
The  aim  of  the  College  is  to  provide  for  Canada  through 
these  agencies,  "  increase  of  productiveness,  with  improve- 
ment of  products  in  the  field  and  in  the  industries  of  the 
farm  and  the  town,  greater  comfort  and  enjoyment  in  the 
home,  a  better  taught  school  for  the  children,  and  a 
nobler  sense  of  the  responsibilities  of  life."  (Macdonald 
College  Announcement,  1910-11,  p.  7).  There  is 
much  in  this  conception  and  in  the  organization  of  the 
College  which  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  example  of  the 
older  agricultural  institution  at  Guelph,  Ontario. 

The  College  is  incorporated  with  McGill  University, 
at  Montreal,  and  constitutes  its  Faculty  of  Agriculture. 
Thus  Macdonald  College  Students  are  eligible  for  a  degree 
in  Agriculture  given  by  McGill  University.  This 
association  with  the  neighbouring  University  was 
deliberately  preferred  to  autonomy,  as  tending  to  assure 
the  character  of  Macdonald  College  as  a  University 
institution. 

The  College  is  situated  in  the  open  country,  twenty 
miles  west  of  Montreal,  close  to  the  C.P.R.  station  of 
St.  Anne  de  Bellevue.  The  site,  which  overlooks  the 
Ottawa  River,  comprises  altogether  561  acres.  The 
buildings,  which  are  disposed  around  an  extensive  campus, 


MACDONALD    COLLEGE.  13 

are  of  uniform  and  imposing  character.  The  largest 
is  the  Main  Building,  which  includes  the  training  schools 
for  teachers  and  for  household  science  ;  the  Women's 
Residence,  which  includes  the  common  dining  room  ; 
and  the  Men's  Residence.  These,  however,  are  merely 
the  massive  core  of  a  remarkable  assembly  of  buildings 
for  scientific,  agricultural,  and  residential  purposes.  The 
English  visitor,  indeed,  is  astonished  not  only  by  the 
spaciousness  and  completeness  of  the  accommodation  pro- 
vided, and  by  the  perfection  and  ingenuity  of  its  appliances, 
but  also  by  the  vast  initial  cost  of  erection  and  equipment, 
and  the  permanent  cost  of  maintenance.  He  is  not 
surprised  to  learn  that  the  resources  of  the  institution  are 
already  strained,  and  indeed  unable  to  provide  with 
commensurate  liberality  for  the  legitimate  charges  of 
teaching  and  research.  It  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind 
that  Macdonald  College  is  only  now  entering  upon  its 
fourth  year  ;  that  the  ideal  of  its  founder,  and  of  those 
associated  with  him,  has  been  an  ambitious  one  ;  and  that 
some  time  must  elapse  before  so  bold  a  project  can  come 
to  fruition,  and  before  full  advantage  can  be  taken  of  the 
lessons  of  experience.* 

(2)  Buildings  and  Equipment. 

There  is  a  generous  supply  of  well-equipped 
laboratories  and  class-rooms  for  all  branches  of  agriculture 
and  horticulture,  and  for  the  allied  sciences.  Of  special 
interest  is  the  large  museum  of  agricultural  machinery 
where  students  are  taught  the  construction  of  farm 
implements.  This  museum,  in  conjunction  with  a  course 
of  lectures  on  farm  mechanics,  forms  a  most  valuable 
feature  in  the  equipment  of  the  College. 

(3)  The  Farm. 

The  Farm  consists  of  387  acres  worked  on  a  four 

*At  Montreal,  members  of  the  Deputation  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  a  conversation 
with  Sir  William  Macdonald  upon  the  aims  of  the  College.  Their  visit  to  St. 
Anne's  unfortunately  coincided  with  the  absence  ot  Principal  Robertson  (who  has 
since  received  an  important  public  appointment)  in  Europe  :  but  they  heard 
much  of  his  distinguished  services  to  Macdonald  College  and  to  Canadian 
education,  while  the  Acting  Principal,  Dr.  F.  S.  Harrison,  most  kindly  gave 
them  every  information  on  the  spot. 


14  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

course  rotation  :  (i)  Roots  or  Maize  (2)  Grain  (3) 
Seeds  (4)  one  year's  pasture.  Signs  of  good 
cultivation  were  abundant,  and  the  luxuriant  clover  crop, 
due  doubtless  to  a  more  thorough  working  of  the  soil, 
contrasted  markedly  with  the  poor  herbage  on  some 
neighbouring  fields.  Besides  the  main  Farm,  there  is  a 
horticultural  station  of  70  acres,  of  which  20  acres  is 
orchard.  There  are  also  about  400  small  plots  devoted 
chiefly  to  cereal  breeding. 

The  Farm  buildings  will  accommodate  100  cows 
and  1 80  young  stock,  20  horses,  1,000  fowls,  and  a 
number  of  pigs. 

The  Live  Stock  at  present  on  the  Farm  includes  : 
(a)  Pigs  :  Yorkshires,  Berkshires  and  Tamworths.  (b) 
Poultry  :  Plymouth  Rocks,  White  Wyandottes,  White 
Leghorns,  Faverolles,  Rhode  Island  Reds.  The  fowls  live 
in  their  colony-houses  throughout  the  winter.  They  are 
fed  on  dry  corn,  and  lay  well  and  keep  healthy  without 
the  use  of  any  artificial  heat.  (c)  Cattle  :  the  chief 
feature  is  the  herd  of  Ayrshires.  Dairy  Shorthorns  and 
French-Canadians  are  also  kept.  The  Farm  supplies  the 
College  with  milk  and  fresh  meat,  and  students  are  able 
to  learn  the  methods  of  slaughtering,  and  of  judging 
carcases.  There  is  a  large  pavilion  for  judging  live 
animals,  and  the  slaughter  house  is  specially  equipped  for 
judging  the  carcases. 

(4)    Courses  of  Instruction. 

Courses  of  instruction  occupy  about  thirty  weeks  in 
a  year  of  two  terms,  October  to  December,  and  January 
to  April  or  May.  The  courses  may  be  thus  classified  : — 
(a)  Short  practical  courses,  of  about  two  weeks'  duration, 
intended  for  farmers,  and  farmers'  sons.  The  subjects 
dealt  with  include  Live  Stock  and  Cereal  Husbandry  ; 
and  Horticulture  and  Poultry. 

(b)  Two  Years'  Diploma  Course,  intended  primarily 
for  farmers'  sons.  The  first  year  is  devoted  to  agricultural 
subjects  (with  Veterinary  Science)  and  Nature  Study  ;  and 
to  Drawing,  History,  English  and  Arithmetic.  A  course 


MACDONALD    COLLEGE.  15 

of  physical  training  is  compulsory.  During  the  second 
year  the  study  of  agricultural  subjects  is  continued,  while 
the  Nature  Study  courses  are  succeeded  by  instruction  in 
the  elements  of  the  agricultural  sciences.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  not  more  pure  science  is  taught  than  suffices  to 
enable  the  applied  work  to  be  understood.  English  and 
general  studies  are  continued.  The  total  number  of 
subjects  studied  in  each  of  the  two  years  seems  excessive. 
At  any  given  time  a  student  will  be  attending  16  different 
lecture  courses,  and  his  time  table  will  show  from  29  to 
34  hours  of  instruction  weekly. 

(c)  Four  Years'  Degree  Course.  Instruction  during 
the  first  two  years  is  identical  with  that  provided  for  the 
Diploma  Course.  In  the  third  year  pure  science  is 
entered  upon  in  earnest,  full  courses  being  given  in  Botany, 
Entomology,  Chemistry,  and  Physics.  The  agricultural 
side  is  represented  by  Dairy  Bacteriology,  Forestry, 
Agricultural  History,  and  Economics  ;  while  general 
studies  include  English  Literature,  French,  and  Trigono- 
metry. A  third  year  student  is  likely  to  be  pursuing  i  3 
different  courses.  In  the  fourth  year,  however,  some 
specialization  is  permitted.  A  student  may  give  special 
attention  to  Animal  Husbandry,  or  Cereal  Husbandry,  or 
Horticulture  ;  but  in  any  case  he  will  also  be  receiving 
instruction  in  English  Literature,  French,  and  Mathe- 
matics ;  and  also  in  Heredity,  Agricultural  Bacteriology, 
Plant  Diseases,  Chemistry  of  Soils  and  Fertilisers,  Soil 
Physics,  and  Climatology.  He  is  further  required  to 
work  at  a  thesis  on  an  approved  subject. 

(5)  Summer  Vacation. 

The  summer  vacation  occupies  four  or  five  months. 
Ordinary  students  are  required  to  work  on  their  home 
farms.  A  few  selected  students  are  allowed  to  work  on 
the  College  Farm,  where  they  receive  the  current  rate  of 
wages. 

(6)  Fees. 

i.  Tuition  Fees.  Students  resident  in  the  Province 
of  Quebec  receive  free  tuition  during  their  first  two 


1 6  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

years.  In  each  of  the  third  and  fourth  years  they  pay 
$50.  Canadians  not  residing  in  the  Province  of  Quebec 
pay  $50  a  year,  and  non-Canadians  $100. 

2.  Residence.  Each  bed-sitting  room  is  shared  by 
two  students.  All  meals  are  taken  in  common  hall. 
The  charge  for  board  and  lodging  amounts  to  $4  weekly. 

In  the  case  of  degree  students,  the  cost  of  tuition 
and  residence  for  each  year  of  30  weeks  is  equivalent  to 
about  £34  for  local  students,  and  ^44  f°r  others.  Sundry 
charges  for  laboratory  materials,  laundry,  medical  attend- 
ance, etc.,  raise  these  totals  to  about  £40  and  £50 
respectively. 

(7)  Staf. 

The  teaching  work  is  divided  into  the  following 
departments,  the  staff  being  indicated  in  each  case  : 

Departments  of  Practice. 

Cereal  Husbandry    -  A  Professor  and  a  Lecturer. 
Animal  Husbandry-  „  „ 

Horticulture  -  „  „ 

Poultry  A  Lecturer. 
Farm  Management  -  „ 

Dairying 

Departments  of  Science. 

Bacteriology   -  A  Professor  and  two  Assistants. 

Biology  A  Professor  and  one  Assistant. 

Physics  „  „ 

Chemistry  „  „ 

Zoology  and  Entomology — A  Lecturer. 

Other  Departments. 

Nature  Study  A  Professor. 

Manual  Training     -  An  Instructor. 
Physical  Culture  „ 

History  and  English  A  Lecturer. 

Total  :  15  Departments  and  a  Staff  of  23  persons. 

(8)  Conditions  of  Students'  Entrance. 

Those  desirous  of  admission  to  Macdonald  College 


MACDONALD    COLLEGE.  17 

must  :  (i)  be  17  years  of  age  (2)  produce  a  satisfactory 
medical  certificate  as  regards  health  and  vaccination  (3) 
produce  evidence  of  having  worked  upon  a  farm  from 
seed-time  to  harvest.  In  respect  of  ability,  short  course 
students  must  be  able  to  read  and  write  English  acceptably, 
and  must  have  some  knowledge  of  arithmetic,  history, 
and  geography.  Candidates  for  admission  to  the  degree 
course  must  pass  the  McGill  University  matriculation 
examination,  or  an  equivalent.  Moreover,  degree  students 
are  not  admitted  to  the  third  year  courses  unless  their 
record  during  the  previous  two  years  has  been  satisfactory. 

(9)    Relations  with  Farmers. 

The  very  recent  institution  of  the  College  accounts 
for  the  fact  that  as  yet  its  external  activities  are  only  in  a 
preliminary  stage. 


1 8  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

ii.   THE  CENTRAL  EXPERIMENTAL  FARM,  OTTAWA. 

The  Experimental  Farm  at  Ottawa  was  established 
twenty-five  years  ago  by  the  Canadian  Government,  and 
from  that  date  until  now  its  progress  and  reputation  have 
been  associated  with  the  distinguished  services  of  its 
Director,  Dr.  William  Saunders,  C.M.G.,  LL.D.  The 
buildings,  which  are  unassuming,  are  attractively  situated 
in  an  arboretum  of  65  acres.  Adjoining  this  are  the 
horticultural  station  and  the  experimental  farm,  about  400 
acres  in  extent.  Financial  responsibility  is  borne  by  the 
Dominion  Government,  and  the  present  annual  cost  of 
the  institution  is  about  £22,000,  but  this  sum,  though 
inclusive  of  wages,  does  not  include  the  stipends  of  the 
staff.  There  are  no  students  ;  but  the  staff  undertake  a 
heavy  burden,  greater  perhaps  than  should  be  placed  upon 
men  engaged  in  research,  in  dealing  with  enquiries  by 
correspondence.  About  50,000  letters  of  enquiry  are 
received  and  answered  every  year. 

The  laboratories  are  not  large,  but  there  are  excellent 
farm  buildings.  The  Farm  is  on  sandy  soil,  but  the 
texture  is  so  fine  that,  if  well  compressed,  there  is  no 
difficulty  with  drought.  The  objects  of  the  Farm  are  to 
demonstrate  the  most  economical  handling  of  cattle  from 
a  business  point  of  view  ;  to  carry  out  experiments  in 
feeding  ;  and  to  improve  the  breeds  of  live  stock.  The 
stock  kept  is  considerable.  Horses  are  represented  by 
Clydesdales  and  Percherons.  There  are  138  cattle  (43 
steers  and  95  breeding  cattle).  Shorthorns,  Guernseys, 
Ayrshires,  and  Canadians  are  all  represented.  The  cows 
are  kept  very  clean,  and  the  whole  herd  is  admirably 
managed.  Much  attention  is  paid  to  methods  of  feeding. 
Careful  records  of  all  kinds  are  kept,  and  their  analysis 
should  ultimately  yield  results  of  much  value.  There  are 
about  30  sheep,  Shropshires  and  Leicesters  ;  and  136  pigs, 
the  breeds  including  Berkshires,Tamworths,  and  Yorkshires. 

The  Central  Experimental  Farm  is  a  State  institution, 
and  the  staff  advise  the  Government  in  all  questions 
relating  to  agriculture.  The  relations  between  the  Central 
Farm  and  the  other  agricultural  institutions^ of  Canada 


EXPERIMENTAL    FARM,    OTTAWA.       19 

are  less  clear.  It  is  obvious  that  there  are  many  problems 
of  general  interest  and  importance  with  which  the 
Dominion  Government  can  deal  more  effectively  than 
any  Provincial  Government ;  and  the  existence  of  a  Central 
Agricultural  Station  presupposes  some  differentiation  of 
agricultural  problems  into  national  and  local.  It  is  evident 
that  the  increasing  number  and  activity  of  agricultural 
colleges  and  institutions  in  Canada  must  steadily  give 
importance  and  urgency  to  this  question  of  correlation 
and  co-ordination  of  effort.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Central 
Farm  at  Ottawa  is  strengthening  its  hold  upon  the  public 
by  establishing  subordinate  stations  at  different  points  in 
the  vast  area  of  the  Dominion.  At  present,  stations  of 
this  kind  exist  in  New  Brunswick,  Prince  Edward  Island, 
Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  Alberta  (2),  and  British 
Columbia.  Each  station  has  its  own  staff,  but  its  main 
activities  are  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  an 
Inspector  from  the  Central  Farm  at  Ottawa.  As  the 
system  develops,  Canada  will  be  provided  with  a  valuable 
organisation  for  agricultural  investigation,  and,  if  this 
organisation  is  appropriately  associated  with  the  teaching 
centres,  the  prospects  of  rapid  progress  are  most  encouraging. 


20  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

in.     THE  ONTARIO  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE,  GUELPH. 

(1)  General. 

The  Ontario  Agricultural  College  is  situated  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  small  town  of  Guelph,  about  forty  miles 
west  of  Toronto.  Electric  cars  run  between  College 
and  town.  The  College  was  founded  in  1874,  by  the 
State  of  Ontario.  It  was  then  realised  not  only  that  the 
mainstay  of  Canadian  prosperity  must  lie  in  agriculture, 
but  that  only  a  small  minority  of  farmers  were  working 
on  sound  methods.  Most  of  them  at  that  date  depended 
upon  increased  acreage  for  increased  returns.  Hence,  the 
College  was  established  with  two  objects  :  (i)  to  train 
young  men  in  the  science  and  art  of  improved  husbandry 

(2)  to  conduct  experiments  and  publish  the  results.      In 
1904,  through  the  action  of  Sir  William  Macdonald,  the 
Macdonald  Institute  was  erected,  and  the   College  thus 
enlarged    its    scope    so    as    to    provide    also    courses    of 
instruction    in    Home    Economics,    chiefly    for    farmers' 
daughters,  and   a   training   course   for   teachers   of   both 
sexes.       Thus  at  Guelph,  as  at  St.  Anne  de  Bellevue,  the 
broad  and  generous  policy  of  Sir  William  Macdonald  has 
made  possible  an  agricultural  institution    which    attacks 
the  rural  problem  at  three  fundamental  points.       Both 
institutions   endeavour   to   give    a    training    which    shall 
result  in  better  farmers,  better  wives,  and  better  teachers. 

The  College  at  Guelph  is  affiliated  to  the  University 
of  Toronto,  and  Guelph  students  are  eligible  for  the 
degree  in  Agriculture  granted  by  that  University. 

(2)    Finance. 

The  College  is  a  State  institution  and  is  financed  and 
controlled  by  the  Government  of  Ontario.  The  following 
summary  for  1909  conveys  an  instructive  idea  of  the 
liberality  of  the  support  given  to  the  College  : 


GUELPH  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE.      21 

Expenditure  Revenue 


Net  deficiency 

borne  by 
Government 


The  College 
(including    sal- 
aries of  staff  and 
fees  of  students 
and       boarding 
accounts) 
Macdonald   In- 
stitute and  Hall 
The  Farm 
Experimental 
Department 
Dairy    Depart- 
ment 
Poultry  - 
Horticulture    - 
Mech  an  i  c  a  1 
Department 
Soil  Physics 
Forestry 


c. 


c. 


c. 


\^f 

106,078  .  62  30,007  .  31  76,071  .  31 

28,204.13  19,074.36  9,129.77 

14,086.01  7,048.07  7,037.94 

10,026  .  35  120  .  oo  9,906  .  35 

13,746  .07  6,955  •  H  6,790.  93 

4,187.63  2,085.62  2,102.01 

9,052.04  104.27  8,947.77 


865  .  98 
I,OOO  .  OO 

1,249.  58 


865  .  98 

1,000  .  00 

1,249.  58 


188,496.41     65,394.77    123,101.64 


Thus  the  Government  of  Ontario  subsidises  this 
College  to  the  extent  of  nearly  £25,000  a  year.  The 
material  return  for  this  outlay  may  be  given  in  official 
words  as  follows: — "The  application  of  scientific  principles 
to  the  practical  operations  of  the  farm,  and  the  interchange 
and  dissemination  of  the  results  of  experiments  conducted 
at  the  Agricultural  College,  and  the  practical  experience 
on  the  part  of  successful  farmers,  have  increased  the  returns 
from  the  farm  far  in  excess  of  the  expenditure  on  account 
thereof.  The  direct  gain  in  yield  in  one  class  of  grain 
alone  has  more  than  covered  the  total  cost  of  agricultural 
education  and  experimental  work  in  the  Province." 
(Handbook  on  Women's  Institutes,  Ontario  Department 
of  Agriculture,  1908,  pp.  6-7.) 


22  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION. 

(2)  Buildings  and  Equipment. 

The  College  is  pleasantly  situated  on  a  well-planted 
campus  in  the  midst  of  the  Farm.  The  main  group  of 
buildings  comprises  the  Macdonald  Institute,  the  Women's 
hall  of  residence — a  spacious  and  admirable  building — , 
the  building  which  contains  the  College  headquarters 
and  accommodation  for  the  men's  residence,  and  the 
chief  laboratories,  library,  museum,  &c.  The  Guelph 
buildings  as  a  whole  lack  the  imposing  character  and 
uniformity  of  those  at  St.  Anne  de  Bellevue,  but  in  their 
air  of  maturity  they  possess  a  distinction  which  at  once 
strikes  the  English  visitor.  According  to  new  world 
standards,  the  Guelph  College  is  already  old:  and  inspection 
of  it  leaves  a  satisfactory  impression  of  natural  and  steady 
development.  Its  buildings,  which  are  numerous  and  are 
suitably  equipped,  have  been  erected  as  circumstances 
demanded.  Particular  attention  may  be  called  to  the 
large  Machinery  Hall  where  examples  of  the  most  modern 
types  of  agricultural  implements  and  machines  are  kept 
for  teaching  purposes.  In  the  same  Hall  is  also  an 
interesting  nucleus  of  a  collection  of  bygone  agricultural 
tools,  &c.,  which  deserves  careful  fostering  and  a  room  to 
itself.  The  Dairy  is  well-equipped  both  with  hand-and 
power-machinery.  About  80,000  Ibs.  of  butter  and 
20,000  Ibs.  of  cheese  are  made  annually,  the  milk  being 
supplied  by  neighbouring  farmers. 

(3)  The  Farm. 

The  Farm  consists  of  about  345  acres,  the  arable 
portion  being  farmed  on  a  four  course  rotation:  (i)  Maize 
or  Roots  (2)  Oats  (3)  Seeds  (4)  Wheat  (sown  in 
the  autumn*).  There  is  some  permanent  pasture  of  a 
coarse  character,  which  in  places  is  very  wet.  Experimental 
plots  occupy  50  acres,  and  are  chiefly  devoted  to  cereal 
varieties  bred  by  "selection."  There  are  also  a  number 
of  alfalfa  plots  for  testing  varieties:  at  present,  Turkestan 
alfalfa  gives  the  best  results.  Peruvian  and  Arabian 
varieties  cropped  well  for  a  year,  but  then  died  out.  The 

*  Spring-sown  wheat  is  found  to  suffer  severely  from  "rust." 


GUELPH  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE.  23 

ground  devoted  to  Horticulture  consists  of  23  acres  of 
orchard  and  6  acres  of  vegetables. 

The  Farm  buildings  include  a  good  stock-judging 
pavilion  which  will  seat  300.  There  the  College  herds 
are  judged,  and  also  typical  animals  from  the  best  farms 
in  Ontario.  There  is  a  large  cowhouse  and  a  good  supply 
of  other  buildings  for  farm  purposes. 

The  Live  Stock  at  present  on  the  Farm  includes  : 
(a)  Pigs.  Yorkshires  (Large  Whites),  Berkshires,  and 
Tamworths.  (b)  Poultry.  Twenty-five  varieties  and  i  5 
breeds  are  kept  ;  2^  acres  are  worked  under  a  special 
poultry  rotation  :  (i)  Alfalfa  (3 — 5  years)  (2)  Maize 

(3)  Grain       (4)   Grass      (5)   Grass.       The   chickens   are 
also  put  out  in  the  orchards.      The   Lecturer  in  charge 
did    not    advocate    poultry    farming    as    an    independent 
business,   but    only   as  supplementary    to  other  kinds  of 
farming,  such  as  fruit-growing,    (c)  Cattle  are  represented 
by   Shorthorns,  Angus,  Herefords,   Galloways,   Holsteins, 
Ayrshires,  and  Jerseys.      The  cows  are  kept  in  throughout 
the  winter  and  are  turned  out  to  pasture  about  mid-June. 
When  placed  on  seeds  pasture  they  are  fed  in  the  morning, 
before  being  turned  out,  in  order  to   prevent   over-eating 
in   the  field.      About  an  acre  per  cow  is  required  for  the 
3^   months    (mid-June    to    the   end   of  September).      (d) 
Sheep  are  represented  by   Border-Leicesters,  Shropshires, 
and  Oxfords. 

(4)  Courses  of  Instruction. 

As  at  Macdonald  College,  the  courses  at  Guelph  are 
arranged  to  occupy  30  weeks  divided  into  two  terms, 
September  to  December  (10  weeks),  and  January  to  April 
or  May  (14  or  20  weeks).  This  arrangement  enables 
students  to  be  at  home  for  seed-time,  haying,  and  harvest. 

The  courses  of  instruction  may  be  thus  classified  : — 

(a)  Short  Courses. — Of  these  there  is  a  variety, 
such  as  two  weeks'  courses  in  (i)  Horticulture,  or  (2) 
Stock-judging,  and  Seed-judging  ;  a  four  weeks'  course  in 
Poultry  ;  a  twelve  weeks'  course  in  Dairying  for 
the  farmer,  and  a  similar  course  for  the  factory  dairy- 


24  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

man.  It  is  also  possible  for  students  to  join  the 
College  at  any  time  for  practical  instruction  only,  for 
which  the  fee  charged  is  nominal.  All  these  short 
courses  are  of  the  usual  practical  character,  and  do  not 
seek  to  attain  more  than  a  limited  though  useful  aim. 

(b)  Two  Years'  Diploma  Course,  intended  primarily 
for  farmers'  sons. — The  first  year's  programme  includes 
agricultural  subjects,  pure  and  applied  sciences,  English, 
and     Arithmetic.        Sixteen     subjects     are     dealt     with, 
involving  about    26   hours   a  week.     The  second  year's 
work  is  similar  ;  training  in  public  speaking  is   added, 
and  a  thesis  and  certain   collections   must   be   prepared. 
Practical  work  on  the  farm  is  compulsory  for  both  years 
on  alternate  afternoons  throughout  the  Session.     Students 
are   paid  for  their  labour  (except  for  work   done   during 
farm  classes)  at  rates  varying  from  5  to  9  cents  per  hour: 
in  1909  the  sum  thus  paid  for  student  labour  amounted 
to  £05°-      Students  who  have  acquitted  themselves  well 
during  the  two  years'  diploma  course  and  who  desire  to 
continue  to  study  some  of  their  second  year  subjects,  are 
permitted  to  remain  at  College  for  a  third  year  without 
thereby  being  obliged  to  enter  upon  the  four  years'  course, 
described  below. 

(c)  Four  Years'  Degree  Course. — Instruction  during 
the  first  two  years  is  identical  with  that  provided  for  the 
Diploma    Course.       Admission    to    the   degree   course   is 
carefully  controlled.     Thus  a  student  may  not  enter  for  it 
unless  he  has  obtained  during  his  Diploma  Course  60  per 
cent,  marks  in  English,  and  50  per  cent,  in  other  subjects. 
Also,  he  must  have  spent  a  period  of  one  year  or  more, 
under  approved  conditions,  at  the  practical  work  of  that 
branch  of  agriculture  in  which  he  proposes  to  specialise. 
If,  for  example,  agriculture  itself  is  the  branch  selected,  the 
student  must  have  spent  at  least  two  years  with  a  practical 
farmer ;  if  dairying,  then  one  season  must  have  been  spent 
in  a  cheese  factory  and  one  in  a  creamery  ;  if  horticulture, 
then   a   year's   service   with   a   fruit   grower   or   florist   is 
required.     The  third  year's  programme  for  a  student  who 
has  satisfied  these  conditions  includes  eight  subjects  :   four 


GUELPH  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE.  25 

pure  Sciences,  Entomology,  English,  French  or  German, 
and  Economics.  The  time-table  covers  about  30  hours 
weekly.  The  year  concludes  with  a  six  week's  course  of 
Nature  Study.  Before  entering  upon  the  fourth  year, 
each  student  must  present  a  brief  report  on  the  principal 
insect  and  fungoid  pests  of  his  own  neighbourhood. 

In  the  fourth  year,  specialisation  is  more  marked. 
A  candidate  selects  one  of  six  groups  of  studies.  Each 
group  embraces  from  seven  to  eleven  subjects,  of  which 
English,  French  or  German,  and  a  thesis  are  always 
three.  Economics  is  also  included  in  all  groups  except 
the  Chemical.  From  one  third  to  one  half  of  the  subjects 
in  each  group  rank  as  "major  subjects,"  and  for  these  the 
percentage  of  pass  marks  is  higher  than  for  the  rest. 

(5)  Fees. 

Ontario  students  pay  inclusive  fees  of  about  $120 
(£24)  for  each  of  the  first  two  years,  and  $i  50  (>C3°)  f°r 
each  of  the  second  two  years.  Canadians  other  than 
Ontario  residents  pay  about  £30,  and  all  other  students 
pay  about  £35.  The  charges  for  tuition  vary  in  individual 
cases,  but  all  students  pay  $3  a  week  for  board.  Ontario 
residents  are  admitted  to  the  Short  Courses  without  fee, 
but  other  persons  pay  $5. 

(6)  Staff. 

The  Staff  of  Professors,  Lecturers,  and  Instructors 
numbers  about  fifty.  There  are  naturally  wide  differences 
in  calibre  and  standing.  It  would  appear  also  that 
teaching  duties,  and  the  work  of  carrying  out  demonstrations 
for  the  great  number  of  visitors  annually  received,  are 
very  absorbing,  and  trench  somewhat  upon  leisure  and 
opportunity  for  experiments  and  research. 

(7)  Conditions  of  Students'  Entrance. 

Those  desirous  of  admission  to  the  Guelph  College 
must  :  (i)  Be  1 6  years  of  age  (2)  Produce  evidence  as 
to  character,  and  as  to  seriousness  of  purpose  in  seeking 
admission  to  the  College  (3)  Produce  a  satisfactory 
health  certificate  (4)  Have  spent  a  year  on  a  farm,  and 
possess  a  fair  practical  knowledge  of  farm  work  (5)  Pass 


26  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

an  entrance  examination  in  Arithmetic,  Geography,  and 
English.  (This  examination  is  not  a  condition  of  entrance 
to  courses  of  less  duration  than  one  year). 

(8)   Dumber  of  Students. 

The  statistics  for  1909  are  : — 

Diploma  and  Degree  Courses  -     439 

Dairy  Courses    -  36 

Short  Course  in  Stock  and  Seed  Judging  -  -      207 

„   Poultry  15 

,,          ,,        „  Horticulture  54 

Special  Students  1 5 

Teachers'  Courses  -      134 

Domestic  Science  -      314 

Nature  Study,  &c.  84 

Total     -      1,298 


(9)  Stock  Judging  Competition. 

An  interesting  point,  and  one  deserving  of  attention 
in  England,  is  that  every  year  the  College  sends  a  team 
of  five  fourth-year  students  to  take  part  in  an  inter- 
Collegiate  stock-judging  competition  at  Chicago. 

(10)  Delations  °Vvith  Farmers. 

Prior  to  his  appointment  as  head  of  the  Guelph  College 
in  1904,  President  Creelman  had  been  Superintendent  of 
Farmers'  Institutes,  and  had  founded  the  parallel  Institutes 
for  Women.  His  personal  influence,  therefore,  is  doubtless 
a  main  reason  for  the  strong  hold  which  the  College  at 
Guelph  has  upon  the  public  interest,  and  particularly 
upon  farmers.  Guelph,  in  fact,  impresses  the  visitor 
not  so  much  through  its  teaching  energy,  though  this  is 
striking,  nor  through  its  research  activities,  though  these 
deserve  attention,  as  through  its  effectiveness  as  an 
instrument  of  public  and  national  policy.  Whatever  the 
means  employed,  its  single  aim  under  State  direction  is  to 
convey  knowledge  of  improved  methods  of  agriculture 
to  the  farmers  of  Ontario  and  Canada.  It  brings  to  the 
farmer's  door  the  latest  discoveries  of  agricultural  science, 


GUELPH  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE.  27 

whether  made  at  Guelph,  Ottawa,  or  elsewhere.  Its 
function  in  short  is  to  be  the  aggressive  distributor  of  the 
best  ideas  and  methods;  and  no  part  of  its  organisation  is 
more  deserving  of  study  by  the  English  visitor  than  this. 
Some  account  will  be  given  on  a  later  page  of  the 
extension  methods  employed  in  Canada  by  the  Dominion 
and  State  Governments,  and  further  reference  will  then  be 
made  to  Guelph.  It  will,  however,  be  convenient  to 
mention  here  the  four  principal  ways  in  which  the 
College  maintains  contact  with  the  farmers: — (i)  By 
arranging  numerous  excursions  from  various  districts  in 
order  to  inspect  the  College  and  its  Farm  during  the 
month  of  June.  The  railway  and  the  electric  cars  bring 
the  visitors  to  the  College  doors:  they  go  where  they 
please  about  the  Farm  and  buildings  ;  demonstrations  are 
organised  for  their  instruction  ;  and  the  State  provides  a 
simple  lunch.  The  popularity  of  these  visits  is 
demonstrated  by  the  numbers  taking  part  in  them,  and 
their  scale  is  indeed  far  beyond  any  English  parallel.  We 
were  informed  that,  during  June,  1910,  visits  were 
expected  from  more  than  40,000  farmers.  (2)  By  the 
Experimental  Union,  chiefly  composed  of  old  students  of 
the  College.  The  Experimental  Union  was  established 
in  1885  ;  and  in  1909  about  400  of  its  members,  widely 
distributed  throughout  the  Province  of  Ontario,  were 
carrying  out,  jointly,  carefully  planned  experiments  in 
Agriculture,  Horticulture,  Forestry,  and  Poultry-keeping. 
Between  1886  and  1909,  the  number  of  co-operative 
experiments  conducted  was  54,345.  "  In  Agriculture  alone 
definite  experimental  work  was  conducted  on  measured  plots 
on  no  less  than  4,853  farms  in  1909."  "It  is  impossible  to 
estimate  the  influence  of  the  co-operative  experiments  in 
Ontario  in  bringing  25,000  to  30,000  farmers  to  visit  the 
College  annually,  in  overflowing  the  College  with  students, 
in  doubling  the  output  of  Ontario  farms  during  the  past 
sixteen  years,  and  in  the  betterment  both  of  the  farmers 
and  the  farms  of  Ontario."  (See  Report  of  Ontario  of 
Agricultural  and  Experimental  Union,  1909,  pp.  9-10, 
etc.)  (3)  By  the  system  of  appointing  College  graduates 


28  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

as  county  specialists.  The  mission  of  these  specialists  is 
to  win  the  confidence  of  the  district  farmers.  The 
specialist  organises  farmers'  clubs;  he  advises  the  farmers, 
when  opportunity  occurs,  upon  technical  matters,  such  as 
drainage,  pests,  tuberculosis,  etc.;  he  places  him  in  touch 
with  the  College.  Further  the  specialist  is  attached  to 
the  local  high  school,  and  he  teaches  there  on  certain 
afternoons  of  each  week.  About  eleven  of  these  College 
missionaries  have  already  been  appointed.  The  scheme 
promises  well,  and  it  is  hoped  that  in  time  a  College 
specialist  will  be  found  in  every  county  town.  The  system 
is  analogous  to  that  of  the  County  Instructors  in  England 
and  Ireland,  with  the  noteworthy  and  far-reaching 
difference  that  in  Canada  the  local  instructor  is  in  close 
association  with  an  agricultural  institution  of  the  first 
standing  as  his  head-quarters.  (4)  By  publishing  and 
distributing  bulletins  and  leaflets  on  agricultural  practice, 
by  answering  enquiries  by  correspondence,  by  sending 
members  of  the  Staff  to  address  farmers'  clubs  and  similar 
institutions,  and  by  analysing  and  reporting  upon  samples 
submitted  by  farmers  to  the  College  laboratories. 


AGRICULTURAL    POLICY,   ONTARIO.     29 

iv.  THE  AGRICULTURAL  POLICY  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF 

ONTARIO. 

Two  members  of  the  Deputation  had  the  advantage 
of  an  interview  at  Toronto  with  Mr.  James,  Deputy 
Minister  for  Agriculture  in  the  Province  of  Ontario. 
Mr.  James  explained  the  methods  adopted  by  the  Ontario 
Government  in  dealing  with  the  rural  problem.  That 
there  is  a  rural  problem  in  Canada,  as  in  older  countries, 
is  shown  by  the  surprising  fact,  instanced  by  Mr.  James, 
that  in  the  State  of  Ontario,  notwithstanding  its  agricul- 
tural celebrity,  there  are  fewer  farmers  to-day  than  there  were 
ten  years  ago.  He  attributed  the  drift  into  the  towns  to  two 
main  causes  :  the  greater  opportunities  of  making  wealth 
rapidly,  and  their  superior  social  attractiveness.  Complaints 
are  often  heard  of  the  dullness  of  village  life  in  England  ; 
but  in  Canada  organised  village  life  hardly  exists. 
Population  is  thinly  scattered  over  great  areas  ;  and 
opportunities  of  social  intercourse  are  few.  Take,  for 
example,  the  case  of  the  farmers'  wife.  Mr.  James 
remarked  that  even  the  widespread  interest  in  religion  in 
rural  Canada  severs  as  well  as  unites,  for  the  religious 
organisations  are  sharply  distinct.  He  had  been  told, 
for  instance,  by  a  farmer's  wife  that  the  only  occasion 
which  brought  the  women  of  any  large  district  together 
with  a  common  purpose  was  a  funeral.  Sir  Horace 
Plunkett's  maxim  that  better  living  is  as  much  a  condition 
of  rural  prosperity  as  better  business  is  strongly  enforced 
by  experience  in  Ontario.  The  Department  of  Agriculture 
has,  therefore,  boldly  faced  the  whole  question,  in  both  its 
economic  and  its  social  aspects.  The  annual  budget  of 
the  Department  exceeds  £150,000  a  year:  and  nine 
principal  agencies  are  brought  to  bear  upon  the  problem 
of  rural  betterment.  These  agencies  are  :— 

i .    The  Guelph  College  of  ^Agriculture . 

This — the  pioneer  effort  of  the  present  agricultural 
policy — has  already  been  fully  described.  Guelph  is  the 
capital  centre  for  teaching,  for  experiment,  for  expert 
knowledge,  and  for  constructive  ideas.  From  Guelph  go 


3o  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION. 

forth  to  the  country  the  trained  farmer,  the  trained  rural 
teacher,  and  the  trained  housewife.  Guelph  is  a  magazine 
of  expert  knowledge  and  a  factory  of  profitable  ideas  for 
application,  directly  at  the  service  of  the  Government, 
and  kept  in  sympathetic  contact  with  the  farming  public 
of  the  Provinces  by  numberless  personal  threads.  It  is 
worth  observing  that  Guelph  could  not  render  these  services 
if  its  spirit  were  one  of  cold  academic  aloofness  and 
superiority,  or  if  it  were  in  bondage  to  an  official  routine. 
The  spirit  of  Guelph  is  the  opposite  of  these  things,  as  a 
day  spent  there  in  the  society  of  President  Creelman  and 
his  colleagues  will  assuredly  testify.  Guelph  is  an 
interesting  example  of  an  institution  which  on  the  one 
hand  is  affiliated  to  a  University  (Toronto),  and  controlled 
by  the  State,  and  on  the  other  preserves  cordial  and 
sympathetic  relations  with  the  general  public,  and  continues 
to  exhibit  a  lively  vitality  of  its  own. 

2.  The  Veterinary  College. 

The  Ontario  Veterinary  College  maintains  two-year 
and  three-year  courses  in  Veterinary  science  ;  and  under 
certain  conditions  students  of  the  College  are  eligible  for 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Veterinary  Science  awarded 
by  Toronto  University. 

3.  Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Societies. 

The  agricultural  societies  are,  of  course,  found  in 
the  rural  districts,  while  the  horticultural  societies 
flourish  chiefly  in  the  neighbourhood  of  towns.  A 
Superintendent  supervises  these  societies,  and  organises 
meetings,  shows,  and  exhibitions  of  produce. 

4.  Live  Stock  Branch. 

Live  Stock  (apart  from  Dairying)  is  so  important  an 
interest  that  societies  are  formed  in  reference  to  it  alone, 
and  a  special  Superintendent  is  appointed  to  attend  to 
their  interests.  Horse  shows,  sales  of  cattle,  etc.,  are 
arranged. 

5.  Dairy  Branch. 

A  Superintendent  looks  after  this  branch  also.      He 


AGRICULTURAL  POLICY,  ONTARIO.       31 

supervises  the  Dairy  School  at  Kingston  in  eastern 
Ontario.  Associated  with  him  are  30  inspectors  who 
visit  cheese  factories  and  creameries,  and  supervise  their 
sanitary  conditions  and  general  methods  of  work. 

6.  Fruit  Branch. 

Fruit  is  an  important  branch  of  Ontario  agriculture. 
An  experimental  fruit  farm  is  maintained  by  the  Govern- 
ment, in  the  Niagara  district.  There  are  about  twelve 
officials  who  are  at  work  in  helping  and  organizing  the 
fruit  industry.  Part  of  their  work  is  to  organise  local 
societies  of  fruit  growers.  Honey  also  comes  within 
their  reference. 

7.  Colonisation  Branch. 

The  Agricultural  Department  attends  to  the  settle- 
ment of  new  lands,  and  offices  with  the  organisation 
requisite  for  the  purpose  are  maintained  both  in  Canada 
and  in  England. 

8.  Statistical  and  Publications  Branch. 

Full  reports  and  statistics  of  the  agricultural  work 
of  each  year  are  presented  by  the  Department  to  the 
Legislative  Assembly. 

9.  Institutes  for  (a)  Farmers^  and  (b)  Women. 

(a]  Farmers' Institutes  began  to  arise  about  1885,  and 
now  one  of  them  is  found  in  every  county  of  the  Province. 
The  chief  function  of  the  Institute  is  to  organise  a  series  of 
lectures  in  its  county  every  winter.  It  forms  local  centres 
which  may  be  identical  with  those  of  the  agricultural 
societies  or  supplementary  to  them,  the  relations  between 
the  Institute  and  the  agricultural  and  kindred  societies  of 
its  district  being  adjusted  by  the  Superintendent  of 
Farmers'  Institutes.  Each  year  the  Superintendent  sends 
to  each  Institute  a  list  of  twelve  lectures,  and  the 
Institute  arranges  for  two  of  them  to  be  given  at  each  of 
its  centres.  The  Superintendent  thus  employs  two 
lecturers  throughout  the  season,  each  of  whom  has  a  list 
of  six  subjects,  on  any  of  which  he  is  competent  to 
lecture. 


32  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

(b)  Early  in  the  history  of  the  Farmers'  Institutes, 
it  was  found  that  the  farmers  who  attended  the  meetings 
brought  their  wives  and  daughters  with  them.  The 
interest  taken  by  women  in  such  branches  of  agriculture 
as  fruit-growing,  dairying,  and  poultry  raising,  led  after  a 
few  years  to  the  formation  of  Institutes  for  Women. 
The  first  of  these  associations  arose  in  1891.  In  1900 
there  were  33,  with  a  membership  of  1,600  ;  and  in  1910 
there  were  no  fewer  than  554  with  a  membership  of 
14,000.  During  the  year  ending  June,  1908,  these 
Institutes  held  3,868  meetings,  at  which  the  aggregate 
attendance  was  93,780.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that 
the  Institutes  have  steadily  enlarged  the  scope  of  their  aim 
and  function.  Content  at  first  to  discuss  purely  agricultural 
topics,  they  soon  entered  upon  the  more  general  field  of 
subjects  of  interest  to  mothers  and  "  home-makers." 
Still  the  scope  widened.  Meetings  are  now  not  simply 
for  reiterated  discussion  of  foods,  food  values,  and  methods 
of  housework,  but  are  occasions  also  for  satisfying  the 
claims  of  general  intelligence,  and  for  developing 
neighbourly,  civic,  and  patriotic  spirit.  They  provide, 
in  short,  a  common  ground  which  the  social  organisation 
of  Ontario  had  lacked  hitherto.  The  official  statement 
of  the  objects  of  the  Women's  Institutes  runs  thus:  "the 
dissemination  of  knowledge  relating  to  domestic  economy, 
including  household  architecture,  with  special  attention  to 
home  sanitation  ;  a  better  understanding  of  the  economic 
and  hygienic  value  of  foods,  clothing,  and  fuel,  and  a  more 
scientific  care  and  training  of  children  with  a  view  to 
raising  the  general  standard  of  the  health  and  morals  of 
our  people  ;  or  the  carrying  on  of  any  line  of  work, 
which  has  for  its  object  the  uplifting  of  the  home,  or 
the  betterment  of  conditions  surrounding  rural  life." 
(Handbook  for  Women's  Institutes,  1908,  p.  12.)  Each 
Institute  must  hold  at  least  four  meetings  a  year.  It  can 
secure  at  least  once  in  each  season  the  services  of  a 
competent  lecturer  on  payment  only  of  travelling  expenses. 
The  Institutes  possess  an  official  organ  in  the  "  Home 
Journal  "  ;  and  every  year  a  general  Convention  is  held  at 
the  Guelph  College,  which  is  attended  by  several  hundred 


AGRICULTURAL    POLICY,   ONTARIO.     33 

delegates  and  others.  A  useful  Handbook  with  every 
information  concerning  the  establishment  and  maintenance 
of  Institutes  is  published,  and  an  Annual  Report  on  the 
work  of  the  Institutes  is  presented  to  the  Legislative 
Assembly  of  Ontario.  The  growth  and  usefulness  of  the 
whole  movement  in  spite  of  not  a  few  difficulties  are 
indeed  most  striking.  Imagination  has  inspired  policy, 
and  aspirations  which  otherwise  would  have  lain  dormant 
or  isolated  have  found  powerful  and  corporate  expression. 
The  manifold  activity  of  the  Institutes  at  the  present  day 
is  thus  described  in  Superintendent  Putnam's  Report  for 
1909  to  the  Minister  for  Agriculture  :  "In  those  sections 
where  the  work  has  been  established  for  some  years,  an 
increased  interest  is  being  taken  in  the  growing  of  flowers, 
planting  of  shrubbery,  installation  of  labour-saving  devices, 
etc.  Not  only  has  the  Institute  influenced  the  home,  but 
the  members  have  gone  out  among  the  schools  to  see  that 
the  surroundings  are  sanitary,  and  that  some  attention  is 
given  to  beautifying  the  school  grounds,  and  local  councils 
have  been  approached  with  a  view  to  inducing  them  to 
spend  time  and  money  in  improving  the  appearance  of 
streets  in  villages  and  towns.  Assistance  has  been  given 
by  the  Institutes  in  the  installation  of  street  lamps,  putting 
down  of  side-walks,  planting  of  trees,  etc.  Such  work  as 
this  cannot  be  done  unless  the  Institute  concerned  either 
secures  money  from  some  local  source  to  assist  them  in 
their  undertakings,  or  raises  funds  by  holding  concerts, 
tea-meetings,  etc.  The  number  of  libraries  established  is 
an  index  of  the  influence  which  the  Institution  is  having 
upon  the  literary  tastes  of  the  people.  In  a  majority  of 
cases  the  Institute  co-operates  with  the  local  library, 
particularly  in  the  purchase  of  books  and  periodicals  which 
are  of  special  interest  to  the  home  makers."  (Report  on 
the  Women's  Institutes  of  Ontario,  1909,  p.  5.) 

Note.  The  appointment  of  Guelph  College  graduates 
as  agricultural  specialists  in  country  towns  has  already 
been  referred  to  in  the  section  dealing  with  the  Guelph 
College,  (see  p.  27).  The  system  is  likely  to  develop  and 
to  become  an  important  means  of  furthering  the  rural 
policy  of  the  Ontario  Government. 


34  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

v.     CORNELL    UNIVERSITY    (INCLUDING    THE    NEW  YORK 
STATE  COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE). 

(i)    The  Unhersity. 

Cornell  University  is  situated  at  Ithaca  in  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Ithaca  is  a 
country  town  of  broad  thoroughfares  well-planted  with 
trees,  and  possessing  much  of  the  charm  and  seclusion  of 
a  "  garden  city."  It  stands  at  the  southern  end  of  Lake 
Cayuga,  a  sheet  of  water  more  than  thirty  miles  in  length 
and  varying  in  width  from  one  mile  to  three.  The  town 
climbs  eastward  towards  a  steep  summit,  and  here, 
occupying  a  spacious  plateau,  is  the  University.  The 
site  is  a  commanding  one  ;  from  the  campus,  which 
extends  to  nearly  300  acres,  the  visitor  looks  down  upon 
the  blue  waters  of  the  lake,  and  the  many-folded  hills 
which  enclose  it.  The  precincts  of  the  University  are 
roughly  demarked  on  the  north  and  south  by  two  ravines, 
deeply  cut  through  the  limestone  plateau.  The  sudden 
vistas  of  lake  and  hill,  the  cascades,  pools,  and  torrents  in 
ravines  spanned  by  light  bridges,  the  avenues  and  the 
spaciousness  of  the  campus,  endow  Cornell  University  and 
its  situation  with  a  romantic  beauty. 

The  University,  with  its  staff  of  578  and  student 
roll  of  over  4,000,  dominates  the  town.  The  main 
buildings  are  imposing,  particularly  the  Hall  of  Humanities 
(dedicated  to  the  late  Professor  Goldwin  Smith,  one  of 
the  first  Professors  at  Cornell  University  and  its  signal 
friend),  the  Rockefeller  Physics  Laboratory,  and  the 
Library,  the  lofty  tower  of  which  is  a  distinctive  feature 
of  the  group.  The  charm  of  their  setting  compensates 
for  the  severely  utilitarian  character  of  the  majority,  and 
for  the  indifference  to  congruity  in  architectural  style. 
It  was  not  possible  for  the  Deputation,  during  their  brief 
stay,  to  form  more  than  a  very  general  idea  of  a  University 
which,  judged  by  numerical  standards,  approaches  the 
scale  of  Oxford  or  Cambridge.  Their  principal  obser- 
vations will  relate  to  Agriculture,  together  with  a  few 
notes  (on  a  later  page)  with  regard  to  Libraries  and  to 


CORNELL     UNIVERSITY.  35 

the  Residence  of  Students.  No  one,  however,  can  visit 
Cornell  even  for  a  few  days  and  fail  to  receive  the 
impression  of  a  strong  University  spirit.  It  is  omnipresent, 
— in  the  laboratories,  in  the  library,  on  the  campus,  on  the 
baseball  ground,  on  the  lake,  in  the  streets.  It  is  not 
English,  nor  is  it  without  a  note  of  strain  :  but  though 
the  contrasts  with  English  University  conditions  are  not 
less  observable  than  the  resemblances,  the  English  visitor 
of  experience  will  surely  recognise  in  Cornell  a  great 
University  in  the  making.  It  is  indeed  most  striking  to 
remember  that  this  organisation,  now  so  many-sided  and 
so  extensive,  so  rich  in  lands,  buildings,  endowments, 
teachers,  and  students,  was  originated  by  a  man  of  humble 
origin,  Ezra  Cornell,  whose  death  occurred  only  a  few 
years  ago  ;  that  its  history  goes  back  less  than  fifty  years ; 
and  that  as  recently  as  twenty  years  ago  its  scale  was  little 
more  than  that  of  a  small  local  College.  To-day  it 
comprises  a  Graduate  School  and  eight  "Colleges":  Arts 
and  Sciences,  Law,  Medicine,  Veterinary  Science, 
Agriculture,  Architecture,  Civil  Engineering,  and 
Mechanical  Engineering  and  Mechanic  Arts.  Students 
throng  to  Cornell,  not  only  from  all  parts  of  the  United 
States  but  from  all  parts  of  the  world  ;  nor  could  any 
instance  more  significant  than  the  swift  growth  of  Cornell 
be  quoted  to  demonstrate  the  enthusiasm,  the  munificence, 
and  the  ability  which  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century 
Americans  have  lavished  upon  the  creation  and  develop- 
ment of  Universities. 

(2)    The  College  of  Agriculture. 

Almost  from  the  earliest  days  of  Cornell  University, 
agricultural  teaching  has  been  one  of  its  activities  ;  but  a 
decisive  advance  took  place  in  1904,  when  by  an  act  of 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York  the  "  New 
York  State  College  of  Agriculture  at  Cornell  University" 
was  established.  The  sum  of  £50,000  was  voted  for 
buildings,  which  were  occupied  in  1907.  Like  the  State 
Veterinary  College  at  Cornell,  the  College  of  Agriculture 
is  administered  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Cornell 


36  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

University.*  These  two  institutions  are  the  only  State 
colleges  or  departments  in  Cornell  University.  The 
Agricultural  College  is  supported  by  (a)  direct  State 
appropriation  (b]  certain  parts  of  the  federal  funds  for 
the  maintenance  of  agricultural  colleges  (c)  annual 
appropriation  from  Cornell  University  (d]  income 
funds  of  the  College  and  (e)  the  Federal  Experiment 
Station  funds  (the  Federal  Experiment  Station  being  part 
of  the  College  of  Agriculture.)  Students  of  the  College 
of  Agriculture  are  subject  to  the  University  regulations. 

(3)  Buildings  and  Equipment. 

The  buildings,  which  with  their  equipment  cost 
about  £8 0,000,  consist  of  a  main  building,  Agronomy 
building,  Dairy  building,  and  Animal  Husbandry  building. 
They  contain  an  abundance  of  good  lecture  rooms  and 
laboratories.  Dairying  is  exceptionally  well  supplied, 
there  being  altogether  26  rooms  devoted  to  it.  But  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  students  already  indicates  that 
more  buildings  will  be  required,  and  a  large  scheme  for 
extension  is  under  consideration.  The  cost  of  this 
scheme,  which  it  is  hoped  to  execute  within  ten  years,  is 
estimated  at  £250,000.  Increase  in  the  cost  of  main- 
tenance will  make  necessary  a  revenue  of  £50,000,  apart 
from  £15,000  for  the  Veterinary  College. 

(4)  The  Farm. 

The  Farm  consists  of  about  i  ,000  acres,  of  which  600 
are  arable.  The  land  is  not  of  the  best  quality,  and  since 
much  of  it  has  only  been  acquired  recently,  its  condition 
cannot  well  be  criticised.  It  is  being  worked  on  a  five 
course  rotation  :  (i)  and  (2)  Maize  (3)  Oats  (4)  Wheat 

*"  The  State  is  represented  on  the  Board  by  the  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor, 
the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  the  Commissioner  of  Education,  the  Commissioner 
of  Agriculture,  ex-officio,  and  by  five  members  appointed  by  the  Governor.  The 
people  are  further  represented  by  the  President  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society 
and  by  a  Trustee  appointed  by  the  State  Grange.  Ten  members  of  the  Board 
are  elected  by  the  alumni.  The  fifteen  remaining  elective  members  of  the  Board 
are  chosen  by  the  Board  itself.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  statement  that 
the  State  now  has  equal  control  with  the  alumni  in  the  Government  of  the 
University  and  thus  of  the  College  of  Agriculture."  ("  Some  facts  concerning 
the  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture."  By  H.  J.  Webber,  Acting 
Director,  p.  5.) 


CORNELL     UNIVERSITY.  37 

(5)  Clover  and  Timothy  Hay.  Progress  is  being  made  in 
the  various  branches  of  cultivation  :  orchards  are  being 
planted,  and  additional  farm  buildings  are  to  be  erected. 

The  Live  Stock  on  the  Farm  includes  (a)  Pigs. 
Jersey  Reds,  and  Cheshires  (a  cross  between  a  local  breed 
and  the  Large  White).  The  pigs  are  fed  chiefly  on  skim 
milk  and  purchased  middlings,  (b)  Cattle.  Fifty  milking 
cows  are  kept.  Holsteins  do  best,  yielding  1,100  to  1,400 
gallons  with  about  3^  per  cent.  fat.  Jerseys  also  do  well 
yielding  about  300-400  Ibs.  of  fat  per  annum.  Guernseys 
and  Shorthorns  show  a  less  satisfactory  record.  Calves, 
being  pedigree  animals,  are  sold  for  breeding,  and  fetch 
from  $10  to  $30  when  seven  days  old.  Fat  stock  are 
sold  to  the  trade.  (c)  Sheep.  There  are  several 
mixed  breeds.  "  Hot-house  "  lambs  are  reared.  These 
are  dropped  in  November  or  December,  killed  when  eight 
weeks  old  and  shipped  to  New  York.  Their  dead  weight 
is  about  33  Ibs.,  and  they  fetch  about  $10.  (d]  Horses. 
The  Percheron  is  the  most  popular.  Clydesdale  stallions 
are  kept  and  their  service  is  granted  to  neighbouring 
farmers. 

(5)    Courses  °f  Instruction. 

Apart  from  the  work  done  by  "  Special  Students  " 
and  Postgraduates  (see  Students  below),  the  organised 
courses  of  instruction  are  as  follows  : — 

(a)  Twelve  weeks'  Courses.  (November  to  February) 
are  given  in  each  of  the  following  branches  : — General 
Agriculture,  Poultry  Husbandry,  Dairy  Industry,  Horti- 
culture, and  Home  Economics. 

NOTE.  Since  1907  a  system  of  "  Branch  Schools" 
has  been  started  in  New  York  State.  These  are  an 
agricultural  variety  of  the  ordinary  High  School. 
It  is  hoped  that  ultimately  the  Branch  Schools  will 
provide  the  instruction  given  now  in  the  Twelve  Weeks' 
Courses  at  Cornell,  and  so  enable  the  University  to  confine 
its  attention  to  the  longer  courses  and  the  more  advanced 
students. 

>€/ 


38  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

(b)  Four  Years'  Course  for  a  Degree.  The  four 
year  course  in  agriculture  is  of  equal  academic  rank  with 
other  degree  courses  in  Cornell  University.  The  year  is 
divided  into  two  terms  of  about  12  and  18  weeks 
respectively,  October  to  December,  and  February  to  June. 
Class  work  occupies  about  1 8  hours  per  week,  in  addition 
to  physical  training  and  drill  which  are  compulsory. 
The  first  year's  work  comprises  English,  Botany, 
Chemistry,  Biology,  and  Electives  (up  to  four  hours 
weekly).  In  the  second  year,  the  subjects  are  Geology, 
Chemistry,  Physics,  Physiology,  and  Electives  (up  to  i  3 
hours  weekly).  The  third  and  fourth  years  are  devoted 
to  Agricultural  Electives.  The  students,  in  accordance 
with  the  system  prevalent  in  American  Universities, 
select  subjects  from  a  prescribed  list.  The  subjects  are 
arranged  in  four  groups.  A  student  will  spend  most  of 
his  time  in  studying  a  particular  group,  but  he  must  also 
give  some  time  to  each  of  the  other  groups. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  pure  science  subjects  are 
dealt  with  in  the  Science  Departments,  which  are  distinct 
from  those  of  Agricultural  and  Applied  Science  ;  and 
that  instruction  in  pure  science  precedes  instruction  in 
applied  science.  This  procedure  is  not  considered  wholly 
satisfactory,  but  it  is  defended  on  the  grounds  that  the 
previous  training  of  most  of  the  students  has  been  of  a 
uniform  character,  and  that  the  lecturers  in  applied 
science  demand  of  their  students  some  previous  know- 
ledge of  pure  science. 

(6)    Fees. 

"  Tuition  is  free  to  regular  and  special  students  in 
the  College  of  Agriculture."  ("Information  for  Students  in 
the  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture  at  Cornell 
University,"  Sept.,  1 909,  p.  1 8).  In  the  case  of  the  Winter 
Courses  a  tuition  fee  of  $25  is  charged  to  non-residents 
of  the  State  of  New  York.  All  students  pay  a  matriculation 
fee  of  $5  and  an  infirmary  fee  of  $2.  Post-graduates, 
regular  third  and  fourth  year  students,  and  all  special 
students  pay  a  terminal  laboratory  fee.  A  student's 


CORNELL     UNIVERSITY.  39 

yearly  expenses,  including  board  and  lodging  for  30  weeks, 
amount  to  £60  and  upwards. 

(7)  Staff. 

The  Staff  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  numbers 
about  70  Professors,  Lecturers,  and  Instructors.  There 
are  about  20  departments.  In  fifteen  cases  the  head  of  a 
Department  is  a  Professor,  whilst  in  the  remaining  five  the 
head  is  an  Assistant  Professor.  The  Departments  are 
these: — Agriculture,  Farm  Produce,  Animal  Husbandry, 
Dairy  Industry,  Agricultural  Chemistry,  Biology,  Entom- 
ology and  General  Invertebrate  Zoology,  Drawing, 
Extension  Work,  Farm  Crops  and  Farm  Management, 
Farm  Mechanics,  Horticulture,  Plant  Breeding,  Plant 
Pathology,  Plant  Physiology,  Poultry  Husbandry,  Rural 
Economy,  Soil  Technology,  Rural  Art,  Pomology. 

In  addition  to  these,  there  are  lecturers  in  Nature 
Study,  Home  Economics,  and  Meteorology.  The  Meteor- 
ologist is  a  State  official  with  a  large  district  to  supervise, 
and  with  a  government  recording  station  to  control.  He 
lectures  to  students,  but  their  attendance  is  voluntary. 

(8)  Students  and  Statistics. 

There  are  four  classes  of  students  : — (i)  Those  attend- 
ing the  short  Winter  Courses.  These  courses  are  described 
as  "  business  or  occupational  courses,  not  academic.  " 
Admission  is  by  application,  and  no  special  conditions 
appear  to  be  enforced.  (2)  Degree  Course  Students. 
Men  students  must  be  sixteen  years  of  age ;  women, 
seventeen.  Adequate  credentials  must  be  produced,  or 
an  entrance  examination  must  be  passed.  Students  are 
advised  to  gain  at  least  one  year's  practical  experience  on 
a  farm  before  coming  to  College.  (3)  Special  Students. 
These  students  must  be  2  i  years  of  age.  They  follow  no 
prescribed  course,  but  at  least  two-thirds  of  all  their  work 
must  be  in  subjects  announced  on  the  official  programme 
of  the  College  of  Agriculture.  Every  application  for 
admission  as  a  special  student  is  considered  on  its  own 
merits  by  a  Committee  of  the  Faculty.  Special  students 
stay  in  the  College  about  two  years,  and  their  work  is 


4o  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

intended  to  help  them  to  become  successful  farmers. 
(4)  Post-graduates.  The  large  number  of  post-graduate 
students  in  Agriculture  is  a  distinctive  feature  of  the 
College.  At  the  date  of  the  Deputation's  visit  the  number 
was  76. 

The  registrations  of  students  in  the  College  of 
Agriculture  during  the  past  six  years  are  shewn  in  the 
following  table  : — 

1904-5  1905-6  1906-7   1907-8  1908-9  1909-10 
Regulars  (4  years 

degree  Course)     -       98      129      145      209      272      419 
Specials  90        95      124      138      144      120 

Post-graduates     -        31        40        36        43        53        58 
Winter  Course     -      199      253      244      270      364      371 


Totals          -     418      517  549  660     838     968 

The  sources  of  the  supply  of  students  during  the  past 
three  years  were  as  follows  : — 

Students.  1907-8  1908-9          1909-10 

From  New  York  States  474  610          706 

,,     other  States      -  146  188          213 

,,      Foreign  Countries     -  40  40            49 


660          838          968 

A  computation  made  a  few  years  ago  shewed  that  9 1  per 
cent,  of  the  ex-students  of  the  College  were  either  farming 
or  pursuing  some  line  of  work  directly  allied  to  agriculture.* 

(9)    Delations  "frith  Farmers  and  the  ^Public. 

A  separate  department  of  the  College  of  Agriculture 
deals  with  Extension  Teaching.  Meetings,  demonstrations, 
and  lectures  are  organised  at  centres  in  New  York  State. 
There  is  a  very  large  issue  of  leaflets  and  bulletins,  many 
of  them  well-illustrated.  These  consist  of  leaflets,  &c. 
relating  to  the  Farmers"  'Treading  Qourse  and  the  Farmers' 
Wipes'*  'fading  (Bourse,  and  to  courses  in  Home  Stature 
Study,  as  well  as  of  research  publications  of  a  more 
advanced  character.  The  publications  of  the  Agricultural 

*  The  statistics  given  in  this  section  are  taken  from  Professor  Webber's  pamphlet, 
"Some  Facts  concerning  the  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture"  (March, 
1910)  pp.  10-12. 


CORNELL     UNIVERSITY.  41 

Experiment  Station  include  to  date  (May,  1910)  22 
annual  reports  and  277  bulletins.  These  publications 
are  distributed  free  to  such  residents  of  the  State  as  apply 
for  them,  so  far  as  the  means  of  the  Station  will  permit. 
Many  bulletins  are  sent  out  free  of  postal  charges,  and  all 
publications  are  sent  at  reduced  rates.  About  5,000 
farmers  receive  bulletins  about  five  times  a  year,  and 
14,000  farmers'  wives  receive  the  publications  of  the 
Treading  (Bourse  designed  for  them.  Home  Nature  Study 
leaflets  are  sent  to  6,000  teachers,  and  to  70,000  boys  and 
girls. 


42  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

vi.     WISCONSIN  UNIVERSITY  :    (INCLUDING    THE  COLLEGE 
OF  AGRICULTURE). 

(i).    The  University. 

Wisconsin  University  includes  Colleges  of  Letters 
and  Science,  Engineering,  and  Agriculture  ;  Schools  of 
Medicine  and  of  Law  ;  the  Graduate  School  ;  and  the 
Extension  Division.  The  history  of  the  University  goes 
back  to  1836,  which,  it  is  interesting  to  note,  was  the 
first  year  of  Wisconsin  Territory.  Little  progress, 
however,  was  made  until  1848,  when  Wisconsin  was 
admitted  as  a  State  of  the  Union.  In  that  year  the 
Legislature  of  Wisconsin  passed  an  act  for  the  establishment 
"  at  or  near  the  village  of  Madison  of  an  institution  of 
learning  under  the  name  and  style  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin."  The  government  of  the  University  was  to 
be  by  a  board  of  regents  elected  by  the  legislature.  Thus 
from  the  outset  Wisconsin  University  has  been  a  State 
institution. 

After  the  Civil  War,  the  University  grew  rapidly. 
In  1870  it  was  attended  by  nearly  500  students.  An 
extensive  reorganisation  took  place  about  this  date,  a 
feature  of  which  was  the  admission  of  women  as  students 
of  the  University  as  well  as  men.  The  teaching  of  Law 
and  Agriculture  was  undertaken,  and  many  new  buildings 
were  erected.  By  1901  the  University  had  2,600 
students,  including  more  than  100  post-graduates.  The 
most  recent  statistics  for  the  University  as  a  whole  are  as 
follows: — College  of  Letters  and  Science,  2241  ;  College 
of  Engineering,  781  ;  College  of  Agriculture,  403; 
Law  School,  159;  School  of  Music,  143;  Summer 
Session  of  1909,  741  ;  other  enrolments  (chiefly 
agriculture)  545.  Total,  4,947.*  The  Graduate  School 
numbers  281  students,  who  are  distributed  among  the 
totals  given  above.  "  Officers  of  Instruction  and 
Administration  "  number  about  500. 

*  "Catalogue  of  Wisconsin  University,"  1909-10.  pp.  601-3.  In  arriving  at 
the  grand  total,  66  is  deducted  from  the  total  of  students  in  the  School  of  Music, 
since  that  number  of  students  in  the  School  were  already  enrolled  in  other 
Colleges  of  the  University. 


WISCONSIN     UNIVERSITY.  43 

The  University  is  supported  partly  by  the  income  of 
federal  grants  ;  partly  by  taxation  of  the  people  of  the 
State  ;  partly  by  students'  fees  ;  and  to  a  slight  extent  by 
private  gifts.  It  represents  the  culmination  of  the  free 
educational  system  of  the  State.  In  the  educational 
policy  of  the  State,  the  University  sustains  a  similar 
relation  to  the  high  schools  that  the  high  schools  sustain 
to  the  primary  and  grammar  schools.  The  State  through 
the  University  undertakes  to  furnish  instruction  in  the 
various  branches  requisite  for  a  liberal  education,  and  in 
numerous  technical  branches  also.  Research,  and  the 
diffusion  of  knowledge  outside  the  University  among  the 
people  of  the  State,  by  means  of  an  extension  system,  are 
also  among  the  stated  purposes  of  the  University.  The 
discipline  of  the  University  in  relation  to  students  appeals 
to  the  civic  ideal ;  and  the  University,  as  a  State  institution, 
is  careful  to  avoid  "all  that  is  sectarian  or  partisan."* 

Wisconsin  University  occupies  an  excellent  situation 
at  Madison,  which,  though  the  capital  of  the  State,  is  yet 
a  town  of  modest  proportions.  The  University  grounds 
occupy  600  acres,  and  extend  for  upwards  of  a  mile 
along  the  southern  shores  of  Lake  Mendota,  a  sheet  of 
water  about  four  miles  wide  and  six  miles  long.  The 
older  buildings  stand  upon  an  eminence  known  as 
University  Hill.  The  total  number  of  University 
buildings  used  "  for  instructional  purposes  "  is  nineteen. 
As  a  group  they  are  not  effectively  disposed  upon  the 
ground,  but  the  fault  may  be  due  to  unavoidable  historical 
circumstances.  Several  of  them,  particularly  the  Library 
of  the  State  Historical  Society,  are  of  imposing  size  and 
dignity. 

(2)    The  College  of  Agriculture. 

As  already  stated,  an  agricultural  department  was 
established  at  the  University  about  40  years  ago. 
Students  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  are  of  the  same 
standing  as  students  of  the  other  Colleges  of  the  Univer- 
sity, and  for  certain  purposes,  e.g.  in  general  sciences, 

*  Most  of  the  foregoing  particulars  are  taken  from  the  University  Catalogue  for 
1909-10.     pp.  43-54,  and  pp.  601-3. 


44  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION. 

languages,  and  mathematics,  receive  instruction  with  non- 
agricultural  students.  The  buildings  devoted  to  the 
College  of  Agriculture  are  seven  in  number  :  Agricultural 
Hall  (which  includes  the  administrative  headquarters,  an 
auditorium  to  hold  750,  library,  and  several  agricultural 
sciences);  Hiram  Smith  Hall  (Dairy  Department),  the 
Soils  Building,  the  Horticultural  Building,  just  completed, 
the  Agronomy  building,  which  includes  a  grain-judging 
room  able  to  hold  several  hundred  students  ;  the  Agri- 
cultural Engineering  Building ;  and  the  Live  Stock 
Pavilion.  This  last  is  a  remarkable  structure  of  concrete 
and  brick.  It  includes  an  arena  in  the  form  of  an  ellipse 
66  by  164  feet,  capable  of  seating  2,500.  A  system  of 
moveable  curtains  enables  the  arena  to  be  divided  into 
sections.  Beneath  the  amphitheatre-seats  are  1 5  box 
stalls  and  22  standing  stalls  for  horses  belonging  to 
the  University  Farm.  The  Live  Stock  Pavilion  has  been 
erected  in  consequence  of  the  large  attendances  of  farmers 
at  stock-judging  competitions  and  at  certain  of  the  shorter 
courses  in  agriculture.  As  a  group,  the  agricultural 
buildings  are  remarkably  spacious  and  complete. 

(3)  The  Farm. 

There  are  two  Farms :  University  Farm,  adjacent 
to  the  campus,  of  300  acres  of  land,  and  Hill  Farm, 
two  miles  away,  which  includes  about  290  acres 
devoted  to  experiments  with  farm  crops,  fertilizers, 
tillage,  drainage,  etc.  The  land  is  worked  on  a  four- 
course  rotation  (i)  Maize  (2)  Oats  or  Barley  (3)  Clover 
and  Timothy  Hay  (4)  Pasture. 

The  Live  Stock  on  the  Farm  includes  :  (a)  Pigs  : 
Berkshires,  Tamworths,  and  Poland-Chinas,  (b)  Cattle: 
Jerseys,  Guernseys,  Ayrshires,  and  Holsteins.  About  25 
cows  are  kept,  and  the  net  profit  on  them  last  year 
amounted  to  £12  i  2s.  a  head,  (c)  Horses.  Clydesdales 
and  Percherons. 

(4)  Bourses  of  Instruction. 

These  are  numerous,  and  vary  widely  in  duration 
and  character.  A  few  brief  notes  may  be  of  interest  : — 


WISCONSIN     UNIVERSITY.  45 

(a)  Five   Day  Course  in  Dairying,  for  Managers  of 
Creameries   or   Cheese   Factories. — A   chief  object   is  to 
bring   to   the   notice  of  those   attending   the   course  any 
recent  advances  in  dairying  science. 

(b)  Five    Day    Course    in    Home    Economics,    for 
Farmers'  Wives. — Instruction  is  given  in  cooking,  sewing, 
and  nursing. 

(c)  Ten   Day   Course   in   Agriculture   for   Farmers. 
— The  course  is  given  in  February,  a  convenient  time  for 
farmers,  and    aims  at   being  popular    and    useful.      One 
principal  topic  is  selected,  such  as  milk-production,  beef- 
production,   or  cereal   husbandry.       The  hours   of  work 
are  from  8.30  a.m.   till    12,  and  from   2  till   4.      In   the 
evening  there  is  a  demonstration,  or  a  lecture  or  discussion 
on  a  topic  of  general  interest.     The  course  has  been  a 
notable  success. 

(d)  Ten  Weeks  Summer  Dairy  Course,  intended  for 
beginners. 

(e)  Twelve  Weeks  Winter  Dairy  Course,   intended 
for  persons  who  have  had  at  least  six  months'  experience 
in  a  creamery   or  cheese   factory,   and  desire   to   become 
creamery  buttermakers  and  factory  cheesemakers. 

(f)  Short    Course    in    Agriculture,  occupying    two 
winter  terms  of  14  weeks  each. — It  is  intended  for  those 
engaged  in  farming  who  can  devote  only  a  part  of  the  year 
to  study.    During  the  first  term,  the  period  from  8  a.m.  to 
1 2   is  devoted  daily  to  lectures  and  class   work   in   Crops, 
Horticulture,    Live   Stock,   Dairying,   Soils,  Agricultural 
Chemistry,   Business   Methods,    and  Agricultural  Engin- 
eering.  Two  hours  every  afternoon  are  assigned  to  practical 
work  in  the  Dairy,  Stock  Judging,  and  the  Shops,  a  third 
of  the   term  being   devoted  to  each  of  these  branches  in 
turn.      During   the   second   term,  the   morning   period  is 
given     to     Live     Stock,     Veterinary     Science,     Poultry, 
Bacteriology,  Business  Methods,  Farm  Management,  and 
Agricultural  Engineering.      The  afternoon  period  is  given 
for   half  the   term  to  Crops  or  Horticulture,  and   for   the 
other  half  to  Soils  or  Live  Stock. 


46  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

(g)  Middle  Course  in  Agriculture,  extending  over 
two  years  and  leading  to  a  certificate. — During  the  first 
year  about  16  hours  a  week  are  spent  in  English, 
Chemistry,  Agricultural  Electives,  Crops,  Live  Stock, 
Agricultural  Engineering,  and  Dairying.  The  same  time 
weekly  is  occupied  during  the  second  year  with  Biology, 
Bacteriology,  Horticulture,  Live  Stock,  Agricultural 
Electives,  Agricultural  Chemistry,  Agricultural  Bacteri- 
ology, and  Soils.  There  are  two  terms  in  each  year  and 
the  subjects  are  studied  in  a  prescribed  order.  "Considerable 
work  in  the  basal  sciences  is  required  to  lay  a  foundation 
for  the  distinctively  agricultural  work."  Two  hours 
gymnastics  and  two  hours  drill,  weekly,  are  compulsory 
additions  to  the  time  table. 

(h)  Long  Course  (four  years  degree  course)  in 
Agriculture. — The  aim  here  is  scientific  training,  the 
field  of  study  is  very  wide,  and  much  liberty  of  selection 
is  permitted.  During  the  first  and  second  years  the  work 
is  the  same  as  for  the  Middle  Course,  except  that  in  the 
first  year  Electives  are  replaced  by  German,  and  in  the 
second  year  by  Chemistry  and  Mathematics.  In  the 
third  year  the  weekly  time  table  covers  i6J  hours  as 
follows:  Physics  (5),  Botany  (3),  Agricultural  Economics 
(22),  Agricultural  Electives  (6).  In  the  fourth  year  a 
"  major  line  of  study,"  including  a  thesis,  occupies  5  hours; 
a  "  minor  line  of  study,"  including  a  thesis,  5  hours  ;  and 
3  Electives  6  hours.  Total,  16  hours  weekly.  No  student 
is  given  the  degree  who  cannot  show  that  he  has  devoted 
at  least  six  months  to  practical  farm  work. 

The  Long  Course  was  instituted  in  1876,  but  for 
twenty  years  there  were  never  more  than  ten  students 
attending  it.  In  1902  the  numbers  had  not  risen  above 
36.  Up  to  this  date  the  course  was  regarded  as  in  great 
measure  a  failure,  and  the  reason  assigned  was  that  the 
first  stages  of  the  work  were  entirely  devoted  to  pure 
science.  Hence  in  1902  two  noteworthy  modifications 
were  introduced.  In  the  first  place,  much  of  the  pure 
science  was  postponed  to  the  later  stages  of  the  course,  and 
secondly  students  who  desired  to  stay  at  the  College  for 


WISCONSIN     UNIVERSITY.  47 

two  years  only  were  taken  separately  from  those  who 
were  prepared  to  stay  four  years.  Further,  in  1908,  the 
course  for  the  two  year  students  was  modified  to  form  the 
Middle  Course.  These  changes  have  resulted  in  a  marked 
increase  in  the  attendance  at  both  courses.  The  Dean  of 
the  Faculty  of  Agriculture  (Professor  H.  L.  Russell) 
emphasised  as  conditions  of  successful  agricultural  instruc- 
tion (of  the  type  under  consideration)  that  all  students 
should  begin  to  study  agricultural  subjects  at  the  beginning 
of  their  course,  and  that  Short  Course  students  and  Long 
Course  students  should  be  taught  separately.  It  should, 
however,  be  observed  that  the  latter  point  has  a  special 
urgency  in  American  Colleges  where  the  numbers  to  be 
dealt  with  are  usually  very  large. 

(j)  Post-graduates. — The  line  of  study  is  left  largely 
to  the  selection  of  the  student,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  agricultural  faculty.  "  When  contributions  to 
knowledge  of  permanent  value  are  made  they  may  be 
published  through  the  bulletins  of  the  Experiment  Station 
with  proper  credit  to  the  contributor." 

(5)  Fees. 

Students  who  are  resident  in  Wisconsin  State  pay 
nothing  for  tuition.  Other  students  pay  £10  per  annum. 
There  are  small  charges  for  laboratory  and  similar  expenses 
which  do  not  exceed  £6  per  annum.  Board  and  lodging 
expenses  vary  between  £i  and  £2  weekly. 

(6)  Staff. 

The  Staff  consists  of  about  50  persons,  of  whom 
nearly  20  are  Professors.  The  majority  combine  teaching 
with  research,  but  it  would  appear  that  the  burden  of 
teaching  in  some  cases  is  making  research  impossible. 
Professor  S.  M.  Babcock,  Ph.  D.,  LL.D.,  widely  known 
as  the  inventor  of  the  test  for  butter  fat,  holds  the  posts 
of  Assistant  Director  and  Chief  Chemist  of  the 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  and  of  Professor  of 
Agricultural  Chemistry.  His  invention  in  1890  gave  a 
great  impetus  to  the  Dairy  courses  of  instruction,  for  in  the 


48  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

following  year  100  students  came  for  the  express  purpose 
of  studying  his  methods. 

(7)   Statistics  of  Students. 

The  numbers  attending  all  the  courses  of  instruction 
in  the  College  of  Agriculture  are  steadily  rising.  The 
following  figures  relate  to  the  year  1909-10  : 

Long  Course  -  267 

Middle  Course  67 

Short  Course  461 

Dairy  Course  100 

Farmers'  Course  825 

Women's  Course  (first  year)                   450 


2,170 

In  1908-9  there  were  24  Post-graduate  students. 

(8)  (Conditions  of  ^Admission. 

Before  entrance  to  the  Long  or  Middle  Courses,  a 
certificate  from  a  recognised  High  School  must  be  presented, 
or  an  examination  must  be  passed.  For  the  Short  Course, 
a  student  must  be  16  years  of  age,  and  have  had  an 
adequate  public  school  education.  Persons  who  are  2 1 
years  of  age  and  of  approved  capacity,  and  graduates  from 
other  Universities,  may  be  admitted  as  students  in  order 
to  engage  in  special  lines  of  work. 

(9)  ^Relations  with  the  Government. 

The  University,  as  already  mentioned,  is  a  State 
institution,  and  it  is  regarded  by  the  State  as  the  authority 
on  all  agricultural  questions.  All  legislation  dealing  with 
agricultural  technicalities  is  drafted  in  consultation  with 
the  agricultural  staff,  and  the  latter  are  concerned,  through 
their  extension  system,  in  seeing  that  the  law  is  observed. 
Examples  are  the  laws  relating  to  foods  and  fertilisers, 
seeds,  stallions,  and  the  inspection  of  nursery  stock  before 
sale.  The  University  is  thus  directly  associated  with  State 
administration,  and  it  undoubtedly  gains  status  with  the 


WISCONSIN     UNIVERSITY.  49 

public  for  this  reason.  On  the  other  hand,  the  State  gains 
by  the  practice  of  calling  to  its  aid  the  trained  and 
specialised  knowledge  which  is  possessed  by  the  University. 

( i  o)    'Relations  "frith  Farmers  and  the  ^Public. 

Wisconsin  University  is  remarkable  for  the  numerous 
and  close  relations  which  it  has  established  with  farmers 
throughout  the  State.  Farmers  attend  the  short  courses 
of  instruction  by  the  hundred,  and  visit  the  experimental 
plots,  &c.,  by  the  thousand.  Moreover,  the  University 
has  organised  an  elaborate  Extension  Division,  of  the 
activities  of  which  a  brief  outline  may  be  given  : — 

(a)  Correspondence  Courses. — The  35  departments 
of  the  University  provide  between   them    200   different 
courses  of  instruction.      As  far  as  may  be,  correspondents 
are  grouped  into  district  classes,  and  the  instructors  visit 
classes  at  regular  intervals  at  convenient   centres.      The 
work   began    in    1906,   and   by    1908    there   were    iioo 
students.     About  half  of  them  pursue  courses  in  technical 
work,  science,  languages,  history,  and  music.    Engineering 
claims  400  students.     About  350  students  are  doing  work 
which    is   considered    to   be   of  University    grade.     The 
students  are  of  all  ages  and  social  conditions.   At  Milwaukee, 
the  Merchants'  and  Manufacturers'  Association,  recognising 
the  value  of  the  correspondence  work,  have  afforded  their 
employees  special  facilities  for  entering  the  courses. 

(b)  Extension   Lecture  Courses. — The  development 
of  this  branch  has  been  retarded  through  lack  of  funds. 

(c)  Debating    and    Public    Discussion    Department. 
— The  aim  here  is  to  stimulate  interest  in  public  questions 
of  importance.      Debates  and  discussions  are    organised, 
and  advisory  leaflets  and  bulletins  are  issued. 

(d)  Department     of     General      Information      and 
Welfare. — The     function    in    this    case    is    two-fold  : — 
(i)     Information    is    collected,     from     other    States    and 
countries,  relating  to   modern   researches  and   discoveries. 
This  information   is   distributed  in   a  popular  form  to  the 
Wisconsin  public.      (2)    The  Department  assists  localities 
in  solving  particular  problems.      For  example,   120  bakers 


50  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

combined  to  request  the  University  to  assist  them  in 
regard  to  their  special  problems,  and  undertook  to  attend 
any  lectures  or  demonstrations  that  might  be  organised. 
The  University  replied  by  building  a  Bakers'  Institute 
where  technical  difficulties  are  investigated  as  they  arise 
by  experts  obtained  for  the  purpose. 

It  is  hoped  ultimately  to  divide  the  State  into  eleven 
extension  districts,  in  each  of  which  shall  be  a  resident 
representative  of  the  University.  Each  Centre  should 
possess  or  be  connected  with  a  library,  and  should  be  able 
to  add  a  laboratory,  and  other  requisites,  according  to  the 
needs  of  the  locality. 

( 1 1 )    T'be  Experimental  Association. 

Just  as  the  Extension  Division  connects  the 
University  with  the  general  public,  so  the  Experimental 
Association  connects  it  with  the  trained  farmers. 
Membership  is  restricted  to  past  members  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  so  greatly  is  membership  prized  that  students 
have  been  known  to  join  the  University  in  order  to  qualify 
for  the  Association.  The  object  in  view  is  to  develop 
Wisconsin  as  a  great  seed-producing*  area,  from  which 
other  States  and  other  countries  may  draw  much  of  their 
seed  supply.  At  the  University  good  strains  of  maize  and 
grain  are  carefully  selected  or  bred,  and  these  are  sold  to 
members  at  current  market  prices.  Members  are  grouped 
into  "  County  Orders,"  each  of  which  has  its  own 
Secretary,  who  must  keep  in  close  touch  with  his 
members  and  with  the  University.  He  receives  a  small 
stipend,  and  his  expenses  for  each  day  on  duty.  One  of 
his  duties  is  to  visit  each  member  twice  a  year.  If  a 
member  is  found  to  be  farming  badly,  and  so  not  to  be 
maintaining  the  standard  of  seed,  he  forfeits  membership 
of  the  Association.  By  means  of  this  organisation  very 
large  orders  for  seed  can  be  dealt  with,  and  the  Association, 
acting  through  the  University,  already  has  a  very  large 
trade  with  other  States  in  the  Union,  with  China,  with 
Japan,  and  with  Europe.  The  influence  of  the  agricultural 

*  i.e.,  maize  and  grain. 


WISCONSIN     UNIVERSITY.  51 

teaching  of  the  University  is  also  notable  in  regard  to  the 
dairying  industry.  In  1890  the  value  of  the  dairying 
industry  in  Wisconsin  State  was  five  million  dollars,  and 
at  that  date  many  irregular  trade  practices  were  in  vogue. 
In  1910,  the  value  stands  at  seventy  million  dollars,  and 
carefully-framed  laws  guard  against  adulteration.  One 
half  of  the  cheese  factories  of  the  United  States,  and  one 
sixth  of  the  butter  factories,  are  now  situated  in  the  State 
of  Wisconsin. 


52  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

B. 

OBSERVATIONS     UPON      AGRICULTURAL     EDUCATION      IN 
ENGLAND  AND  IN  AMERICA. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

There  are  some  general  conclusions  with  respect  to 
the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  America  which  must  strike 
the  reader  of  the  foregoing  pages  no  less  forcibly  than 
ourselves  who  had  the  advantage  of  visiting  the  institutions 
described.  Whatever  estimate  may  be  formed  of  the 
standards  and  performances  of  the  Universities  of  Canada 
and  of  the  United  States,  it  is  impossible  either  to  dispute 
or  to  disregard  their  magnitude  of  scale,  their  energy  of 
enterprise,  or  their  success  in  result.  There  is,  for 
example,  no  agricultural  institution  in  this  country  which 
is  housed  and  equipped  like  Macdonald,  none  which  can 
show  a  roll  of  students  and  post-graduates  like  that  of 
Guelph,  Cornell,  or  Wisconsin,  none  which  is  based  upon 
a  contact  and  alliance  with  farmers  such  as  that  which 
flourishes  at  Wisconsin  or  Guelph,  and  none  which  can 
produce  a  record  of  material  assistance  to  the  agriculture 
of  the  region  like  that  of  Wisconsin.  The  buildings  at 
Macdonald  cost  most  of  a  million  sterling,  and  were  the 
gift  of  one  man.  Cornell  possesses  more  serious  students 
of  agriculture  than  all  the  English  Colleges  together.* 
Throughout  the  vast  agricultural  areas  of  Ontario  and 
Wisconsin,  Guelph  and  Wisconsin  University  respectively 
are  farm-house  names;  and  thousands  of  farmers,  judging 
shrewdly  from  experience,  look  to  them  for  guidance  and 
instruction.  And  it  has  been  shewn  in  the  preceding 
pages  how  the  unrivalled  position  of  Wisconsin  in  the 
production  of  cheese  and  butter  is  the  direct  outcome  of 
scientific  teaching  happily  wedded  to  prudent  legislation. 
If  any  one  still  doubts  these  things,  and  deems  it  worth 
while  to  go  on  repeating  the  sceptical  question  "  Can 

*  From  the  returns  given  in  the  Annual  Report  on  the  Colleges  by  the  Board  of 
Agriculture,  1910,  [Cd.  5388],  it  would  appear  that  the  number  of  such  students 
in  1908-9  at  12  institutions  (exclusive  of  the  Royal  Veterinary  College)  was 
about  500.  The  latest  figures  for  a  similar  class  of  student  are  at  Cornell,  597  ; 
at  Guelph,  475  ;  at  Wisconsin,  358. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  AGRICULTURE.      53 

agriculture  be  taught  ?  "  our  advice  is  that  he  should 
go  to  Canada  and  the  United  States  and  see  the  thing 
done,  and  done  upon  a  great  scale.  Even  the  narrow  field 
which  has  been  surveyed  in  this  Report  is  amply 
sufficient  to  demonstrate  the  untiring  energy  and  confidence 
and  the  remarkable  success  with  which,  both  in  Canada 
and  in  the  United  States,  trained  intelligence  and  scientific 
knowledge  are  brought  to  bear  upon  the  problems  of 
agriculture  and  of  rural  society.  This  is  the  first  broad 
and  outstanding  conclusion.  In  our  view  it  is  better  to 
fix  attention  upon  this  stimulating  lesson  rather  than  to 
indulge  in  sterile  debate  whether  or  not  all  the  agricultural 
activities  which  we  saw  at  work  in  America  can  properly 
be  described  as  of  a  University  character,  or  to  attempt 
the  invidious  task  of  estimating  and  comparing  the 
relative  values  of  the  agricultural  experiments  and  research 
carried  on  in  America  and  in  our  own  country. 

There  is,  of  course,  no  novelty  in  this  recognition 
of  the  vigorous  effectiveness  of  the  agricultural  instruction 
given  in  Canada  and  in  the  United  States.  Members  of 
the  Deputation  were  told,  even  before  they  left  England, 
that  they  would  return  with  this  view  strongly  impressed 
upon  them.  They  were  also  told,  not  less  authoritatively, 
that  the  example  of  America  would  be  of  no  service  as  a 
guide  to  the  solution  of  problems  at  home,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  the  conditions  of  the  two  cases  are  quite 
different.  This  dictum  cannot  be  accepted.  Yet  it 
contains  an  important  element  of  truth.  There  are 
undoubted  and  far-reaching  differences  between  the 
problem  of  agricultural  instruction  in  America  and  the 
problem  in  this  country.  It  will  repay  us  to  consider 
these  carefully,  before  proceeding  to  offer  specific 
suggestions. 

DIFFERENCES     IN     THE    CONDITIONS     OF    AGRICULTURAL 
EDUCATION  IN  ENGLAND  AND  IN  AMERICA. 

(a)    Climate. 

The  primary  differentiating  factor  is  climate.  Hot 
summers  and  severe  and  prolonged  winters  characterise 


54  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

the  region  traversed  by  the  Deputation.  These  natural 
conditions  affect  the  whole  of  agricultural  practice, 
including  tillage,  the  selection  of  crops,  the  breeds  of 
live-stock,  their  feeding  and  housing,  the  dates  and 
seasons  of  the  year's  agricultural  routine.  Moreover, 
climate  has  an  important  bearing  upon  the  organisation  of 
instruction.  It  is  at  once  evident  that  it  governs  more 
directly  than  in  England  the  period  assigned  to  University 
sessions.  Practically  the  Universities  and  Colleges  of 
America  are  in  session  during  the  winter,  from  October 
to  April  or  May,  and  in  vacation  during  the  rest  of 
the  year.  This  arrangement  accords  well  with  the 
circumstances  of  the  agricultural  student,  the  farmer's  son, 
and  the  young  farmer.  He  is  able  to  spend  in  the  class- 
room and  laboratory,  more  conveniently  than  would  be 
the  case  in  England,  the  long  winter  period  during  which 
in  Canada  and  America  most  agricultural  work  is  at  a 
standstill  ;  while  in  the  summer  he  goes  home  to  help  on 
the  farm,  at  a  time  of  ceaseless  pressure,  and  to  gain  there 
— or  possibly  on  the  farm  of  a  stranger — several  months' 
experience  in  farm  work,  which  is  an  invaluable  corollary 
to  the  University  training  of  the  winter.  Owing, 
therefore,  to  climatic  differences  alone,  agriculture  across 
the  Atlantic  is  not  the  same  as  agriculture  at  home,  while 
the  same  differences  make  it  more  easy  for  farmers  in 
Canada  and  in  the  United  States  to  send  their  sons  to 
study  at  agricultural  colleges. 

*  Table    35    of  the  General    Report   on    the   Census    of    1901    (England   and 

Wales)  gives  the  following  statistics  : — 

Persons  engaged  in  Agriculture —  (Thousands)          Total 

(Thousands) 
Males  ...  ...  ...  1159        \ 

Females  ...  ...  ...  39        j 

Persons  engaged  in  Mines  and  Quarries  — 

Males  ...  ...  ...  800 


Females  ...  ...  ...  5         f 

Persons  engaged  in  Metals,  Machines,  Implements,  and 
Conveyances — 

Males  ...  ...  ...          1167 

Females          ...  ...  ...  61 

Persons  engaged  in  Building  and  Works  of  Construction — 

Males  1126        ) 

u        i  r      II28 

remales  ...  2         I 


ECONOMIC  POSITION  OF  AGRICULTURE.  55 

(2)    Economic  Position  of  Agriculture. 

Related  to  climatic  conditions  is  the  wide  contrast 
in  the  economic  position  of  agriculture.  Agriculture  is 
no  longer  the  predominant  economic  interest  of  England. 
The  claim  that  it  employs  more  persons  than  any  other 
single  industry  no  longer  passes  without  challenge  ;* 
although  in  the  consideration  and  esteem  accorded 
to  it  by  public  opinion  on  social  and  traditional 
grounds  it  is  still  easily  supreme.  Nevertheless,  the 
wealth  of  England,  the  prosperity  of  her  people,  her 
economic  position  as  compared  with  that  of  other 
nations,  are  no  longer  primarily  dependent  upon  her 
agriculture.  The  opposite  is  the  case  with  Canada,  and 
with  vast  regions  of  the  United  States.  Nature  has  there 
reserved  enormous  areas  of  land  for  the  farmer.  In  districts 
of  older  occupation,  such  as  Ontario  and  Wisconsin, 
farmers  are  counted  by  the  thousand.  As  yet,  the  tide 
of  immigration  has  done  little  more  than  touch  the  fringe 
of  the  new  lands  of  western  Canada.  Everywhere  in 
these  regions  agriculture  is  the  mainstay  of  prosperity, 
for  the  individual  and  for  the  community.  Remove  it, 
and  the  economic  structure  of  society  collapses.  The 
great  cities,  such  as  Toronto  and  Chicago,  even  though 
their  commercial  opportunities  and  their  social  glitter 
attract  population  from  the  districts  around  them,  ultimately 
owe  their  prosperity,  or  most  of  it,  to  agriculture.  This 
economic  supremacy  of  agriculture  has  many  consequences, 
of  which  only  one  need  be  named  here.  In  Canada,  and 
in  those  parts  of  the  United  States  visited  by  the  Deputation, 

(Thousands)          Total 

(Thousands) 
Persons  engaged  in  Textile  Fabrics — 

Males  ...  ...  ...  492         ) 

Females  ...  ...  ...  663         j 

Workers  and  Dealers  in  Dress — 

Males  4.  i;         ) 

„        .  V      I  127 

Females  ...  ...  ...  712        j 

The  total  number  of  persons  over  ten  years  of  age  "engaged  inoccupations"  was, 
in  thousands,  Males  10,157  >  Females,  4,172.  Total,  14,329.  The  proportion 
of  those  engaged  in  Agriculture  was,  therefore,  approximately,  one-twelfth  of 
the  whole  number. 


56  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

agriculture  figures  so  largely  in  the  public  eye,  it  is  a 
business  fact  of  such  paramount  importance  to 
governments,  and  the  scale  and  theatre  of  its  operations 
are  so  vast  and  so  rapidly  extending,  that  it  is  regarded 
as  a  career  with  a  confidence  not  found  in  the  old 
country,  while  the  conditions  of  its  successful  study 
and  pursuit  are  considered  no  less  worthy  of  attention  than 
those  relating  to  Medicine,  Engineering,  and  Law.  This 
is  a  difference  which  can  only  be  expressed  in,  general 
terms,  but  it  produces  remarkable  results  both  here  and  in 
America. 


(3)    ^Re  lathe   scope  of    Universities  and  conditions  of  their 
success. 

Problems  of  agricultural  policy  in  America  differ 
from  our  own  because  they  are  the  problems  of  youthful 
communities.  It  is  the  fashion  to  flatter  American  energy 
and  to  decry  British  deliberateness,  and  probably  in  each  case 
the  fashion  is  overdone.  The  atmosphere  of  the  western 
continent  may  or  may  not  have  the  bracing  properties 
claimed  for  it.  But  undoubtedly  the  visitor  finds  there 
a  keenness  and  a  confidence  in  regard  to  public  enterprise 
which  makes  light  of  obstacles,  and  is  in  itself  a  harbinger 
of  success.  The  consciousness  of  rapid  material  progress 
in  the  past,  of  almost  boundless  opportunities  for 
progress  in  the  future,  generates  the  sanguine  temperament 
and  a  readiness  to  try  experiments,  which  is  much  less 
characteristic  of  older  communities,  and  is  altogether  favour- 
able to  educational  enterprise.  Thus  Sir  William  Macdonald 
plans  and  builds  for  a  future  which  is  to  him  not  a  dim 
speculation,  but  a  certainty:  students  everywhere  are 
keen  to  equip  themselves  with  university  training,  even 
if  they  can  only  raise  money  to  pay  for  it  by  working  in 
vacations  as  farm-hands,  stewards,  waitresses,  clerks,  or 
miners;  a  Canadian  mayor  rejoices  that  the  education 
rate  of  his  city  is  the  highest  in  the  Dominion  ;  and  the 
Legislatures  of  New  York  State  or  of  Wisconsin  will  not 
hesitate  to  invest  large  sums  of  public  money  in  establishing 
Universities  to  educate  their  youth  for  the  tasks  of  the 
future.  Moreover,  this  confident  purpose  enjoys  a 


UNIVERSITIES  IN  AMERICA  &IN  ENGLAND.  57 

freedom  of  opportunity  which  is  peculiar  to  a  youthful 
society.  In  England,  the  reformer,  whatever  his  school 
or  his  aim,  is  faced  by  an  intricate,  mature,  and  deeply- 
rooted  established  order.  Very  early  in  his  career  he 
becomes  familiar  with  the  significance  of  vested  interests, 
rival  agencies  and  efforts,  conflicting  jurisdictions,  prior 
claims,  and  an  indisposition  springing  from  manifold 
causes  to  accept  change  or  novelty  either  in  idea  or  in 
fact.  These  things  and  the  type  of  difficulty  which  they 
suggest  are  not  absent  from  America:  and  some  of  them 
may  even  be  abnormally  active  there.  But  generally 
speaking  the  ground  is  much  clearer  there  than  here  for 
constructive  educational  effort.  There  are  fewer  things 
in  the  way.  A  new  University  in  America,  for  example, 
if  it  is  reasonably  conducted,  has  a  much  simpler  task  in 
winning  recognition  for  its  mission  and  its  claims  at  the 
bar  of  public  opinion  than  a  new  University  in  England. 
The  reason  is  not  necessarily  because  public  opinion  here 
has  a  superior  idea  of  what  a  University  ought  to  be.  It 
is  rather  because  a  new  University  set  down  in  a  young 
social  order,  fills  a  visible  and  felt  need,  while  in  England, 
though  the  need  may  be  equally  great,  society  is  less 
conscious  of  it  and  is  inured  to  its  neglect.  In  America 
the  University  is  quickly  seized  upon  as  the  nucleus, 
sometimes  developing  with  amazing  swiftness,  of  an 
educational  armament  of  the  most  diversified  description. 
Scrutinise,  for  example,  the  activities  of  the  Extension 
Division  of  Wisconsin  University,  and  it  will  at  once 
be  apparent  that  the  University  function  is  not  confined 
by  conventional  boundaries,  and  that  a  variety  of  work  is 
undertaken  which  in  England  would  be  declined,  often 
because  it  was  already  being  done  by  existing  agencies. 
America,  in  short,  regards  a  University  as  a  lever  to  be 
used  in  very  numerous  ways  to  advance  the  interests  of 
civilisation.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  university 
education  is  often  interpreted  as  including  anything  in  the 
intellectual  sphere  which  is  beyond  the  school-stage.  We 
may  dislike  an  interpretation  of  this  laxity;  but  we 
cannot  deny  that,  thanks  to  the  catholic  range  of  its 
activities  only  possible  in  equal  measure  on  the  clear 


58  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION. 

stage  of  a  young  community,  a  University  in  America 
has  an  excellent  opportunity  of  impressing  popular  opinion 
with  the  useful  character  of  its  services.  It  follows, 
moreover,  that  because  the  University  is  so  conspicuous 
a  unit  in  the  intellectual  organisation  of  society,  and 
because  its  work  ministers  so  directly  to  public  needs, 
there  is  far  less  hesitation  in  Canada  and  in  the  United 
States  than  in  England  about  the  propriety  of  liberal  State 
aid.  Moreover,  the  political  organisation  of  Canada  and 
of  the  United  States  relieves  the  question  of  State  aid  of 
some  of  the  difficulties  which  exist  in  this  country.  The 
English  Board  of  Agriculture,  for  example,  is  believed  to 
find  difficulty  in  increasing  the  grants  in  aid  of  one  or 
two  Colleges  without  shewing  similar  liberality  to  the 
rest  ;  whereas  in  the  United  States  the  College  or 
University  not  only  shares  in  the  general  grants  of  the 
Federal  Government,  but  it  monopolises  the  benevolence 
of  its  own  State.  It  is  not  millionaires  alone  who  have 
backed  the  Universities  of  those  countries.  Democracy 
has  backed  them  too.  Guelph  is  State-made ;  the 
agricultural  college  at  Cornell  is  State-made  ;  the  whole 
of  Wisconsin  University  is  State-made.  State  control  is 
liable  to  peculiar  dangers,  which  cannot  be  discussed 
here.  The  points  to  be  emphasized  are  that  the 
Universities  of  Canada  and  the  United  States  can  run  a 
course  clearer  than  is  possible  to  new  Universities  in 
older  countries;  that  they  are  able  to  concentrate  in  their 
hands  a  variety  of  educational  functions  elsewhere 
distributed  or  declined;  and  that  they  gain  a  peculiar 
prestige  because  they  are  welcomed,  used,  and  fostered 
by  the  State  as  instruments  and  allies  of  the  first  value  in 
promoting  the  general  welfare  of  society.  The  liberality 
of  State  support  explains  many  of  the  contrasts  between 
the  progress  of  advanced  agricultural  education  in 
America  and  its  progress  here.  Take  the  instance  of 
tuition  fees.  At  Macdonald,  the  student  from  the 
Province  of  Quebec  receives  free  tuition  for  his  first  two 
years.  At  Guelph,  the  fees  of  an  Ontario  student  are 
greatly  reduced.  At  Cornell  and  Wisconsin  the  local 
student  is  exempt  from  tuition  fees  altogether. 


FARMERS  IN  AMERICA  &  IN  ENGLAND.   59 

(4)    Ability  and  Attitude  of  Farmers. 

One  circumstance  in  particular  will  be  held,  in  the 
opinion  of  competent  judges,  to  differentiate  more 
markedly  than  anything  yet  mentioned  the  problems 
of  agricultural  instruction  in  America  from  those  which 
confront  us  here.  This  circumstance  relates  to  the 
capacity  of  the  farmer,  and  to  his  attitude  to  agricultural 
education.  English  farmers  have  no  rivals  in  the 
world.  They  have  been  bred  for  generations  from  the 
best  agricultural  classes.  They  know  thoroughly  the 
details  of  farm  practice,  and  they  have  very  firmly  rooted 
views  upon  the  subject.  They  inherit  a  traditional 
experience  and  skill  enabling  them  to  produce  unrivalled 
results,  both  in  crops  and  in  stock.  It  is  therefore  very 
difficult  to  convince  them  that  anyone  who  is  not  a  farmer 
can  teach  them  anything,  or  that  any  preparation  for  an 
agricultural  career  can  be  of  serious  value  except  that 
which  is  gained  under  the  direction  of  a  practical  farmer 
in  the  school  of  hard-won  experience.  The  farmer  has 
not,  perhaps,  been  particularly  impressed  by  the  quality 
of  some  of  the  agricultural  instructors  who  perambulate 
the  counties.  Only  very  able  specialists  can  hope  to  meet 
with  real  success  as  extension  instructors,  and  again  and 
again  the  slow  progress  of  extension  activities  has  been 
due  to  a  disastrous  disregard  of  this  fundamental  truth. 
To  the  farmer,  again,  with  his  proper  respect  for  practice, 
it  appears  that  the  agricultural  professor  is  too  often  in 
bondage  to  theory.  He  has  not  always  found  the 
experimental  work  conducted  by  agricultural  colleges 
very  illuminating  or  convincing  ;  nor  is  he  always  aware 
of  what  is  being  done  in  those  institutions,  or  indeed  by 
farmers  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  He  both  suffers  and 
gains  from  the  independence  of  isolation.  And  lastly  any 
programme  of  agricultural  education  conies  to  him  dis- 
advantageously  because  the  whole  subject  of  education  is 
associated  in  his  mind  with  burdensome  county  rates. 
Hence  the  progress  of  agricultural  education  in 
England  has  been  delayed  for  these  reasons,  and 
especially  by  the  fact  that  English  farmers  are  not 


60  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

exempt  from  the  prejudices  which  in  part  at  least  are  the 
outcome  of  their  competence.  Yet  a  great  change  would 
come  over  their  general  attitude  if  two  plain  truths  could 
be  driven  home.  The  first  is  that  the  marvellous  progress 
of  English  farming  during  the  last  two  centuries  has  been 
mainly  due  to  agricultural  education,  which  itself  resulted 
from  the  labours  of  men  of  science  and  experimenters 
many  of  whom  were  not  successful  practical  farmers. 
For  example,  the  methods  of  drilling  and  horse-hoeing 
introduced  by  Jethro  Tull  of  Berkshire  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  based  upon  a  close  study  of  plant 
life,  were  vehemently  denounced  by  the  practical  farmers 
of  the  day,  but  they  have  since  been  generally  adopted. 
Few  men  did  more  for  English  agriculture  than  Arthur 
Young  and  yet,  having  failed  twice  in  practical  farming, 
he  appeared  to  many  of  his  contemporaries  as  an 
educational  faddist.  Townshend's  experiments  revolution- 
ised the  rotation  of  crops  ;  and  Bakewell  changed  greatly 
the  character  of  the  chief  breeds  of  live-stock.  Thrashing 
machinery  owed  its  introduction  to  individual  experi- 
menters ;  and  a  Scotch  farmer  with  a  turn  for  science 
first  gave  the  impetus  to  the  application  of  chemical 
science  to  manuring  and  to  other  branches  of  agricultural 
practice.  "  The  work  of  Liebig,  Gilbert,  and  Lawes 
in  one  direction  only  —  the  feeding  of  the  plant- 
has  resulted  in  the  use  of  fertilisers  drawn  either  from 
fossil  deposits  or  manufacturing  waste  products  that  has 
brought  up  the  yield  of  our  crops  to  an  entirely  new 
level.  Lawes  reports  that  the  average  crop  of  wheat  in 
his  district  at  the  beginning  of  his  experiments  was  about 
twenty  bushels  per  acre  ;  to-day  it  is  over  thirty  bushels. 
Of  course  it  is  not  only  fertilisers  that  have  done  this. 
Scientific  method  has  also  been  applied  to  the  machines 
which  cultivate  the  soil,  to  the  breeds  of  plants  growing 
there,  and  to  the  eradication  of  the  diseases  from  which 
they  suffer."*  Other  examples  could  be  quoted,  but  so 
demonstrable  a  proposition  as  the  value  of  science  to 
agriculture  need  not  be  laboured. 

*  Address  to  Sub-Section  F  (Agriculture),  British  Association,  Dublin,    1908,  by 
the  Right  Hon.  Sir  Horace  Plunkett,  K.C.V.O.,  F.R.S.,  p.  4. 


FARMERS  IN  AMERICA  &  IN  ENGLAND.  61 

The  second  point  is  that  farmers  often  misunder- 
stand the  object  of  an  agricultural  college.  It  is 
not  easy  to  convince  a  farmer  that  no  agricultural 
college  really  proposes  to  manufacture  farmers.  The 
business  of  the  agricultural  college  is  to  give  men  a 
training  which  shall  stand  them  in  good  stead  when 
they  come  to  manage  farms,  and  more  especially,  to 
instruct  them  in  modern  methods.  It  cannot  give  the 
experience  necessary  to  success.  The  farming  public 
retains  a  good  deal  of  scepticism  upon  all  these  points, 
though  there  is  satisfactory  evidence  that  its  attitude 
towards  agricultural  education  and  agricultural  colleges  is 
gradually  becoming  more  favourable.  The  Departmental 
Committee  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Agriculture  and 
Fisheries  to  investigate  agricultural  education  in  England 
and  Wales,  stated  in  their  Report  [Cd.  4206]  published 
in  1908,  that  evidence  submitted  to  them  showed  "in  an 
unmistakable  manner  that  the  attitude  of  farmers  on  the 
subject  has  undergone,  or  is  undergoing, .  a  change." 
(p.  i  i).  Even  so,  the  Report  confesses  that  the  majority 
of  farmers  have  not  been  reached  by  the  agricultural 
colleges  at  all,  and  quotes  the  declaration  of  an 
important  witness  "  that  the  colleges,  however  well 
conducted,  do  not  at  present  directly  affect  more  than 
5  per  cent,  of  the  farmers  of  England."  (p.  12)  If  such 
a  statement  is  at  all  justified,  it  is  almost  superfluous  to 
remark  that,  whatever  may  be  the  reasons,  advanced  or 
scientific  training  in  agriculture  has  yet  to  win  the 
confidence  of  the  English  farmer. 

But  it  has  won  the  confidence  of  the  farmers  of 
America.  No  fact  more  deeply  impresses  the  visitor  to 
the  Colleges  of  Canada  and  the  United  States.  He  sees 
agricultural  colleges  full  of  students ;  agricultural  colleges 
helping  the  farmer  at  every  turn  ;  and  farmers  believing 
in  and  valuing  the  colleges.  It  is  hoped  that  the  general 
tenor  of  these  observations  may  throw  some  light  upon  the 
causes  of  this  most  significant — and,  for  Englishmen, 
disturbing — contrast.  But  undoubtedly  one  main  cause 
of  it  is  that  in  America  it  is  much  easier  to  help  the 


62  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

farmer  than  it  is  in  England.  It  is  easier  because  the 
standards  of  farming  are  less  high,  and  because  the  capacity 
of  the  average  farmer  is  less  complete.  To  say  this  is  by 
no  means  to  minimise  the  remarkable  ability  with  which 
American  Colleges  have  addressed  themselves  to  their 
task,  which  is  indeed  beset  by  other  and  peculiar  diffi- 
culties not  experienced  in  this  country.  But  the  fact  is 
to  be  recognised  that  the  Colleges  of  Canada  and  the 
United  States  have  to  deal  with  farmers  who  differ  in 
quality  and  in  mental  attitude  from  those  of  this  country. 
Many  of  them  have  had  little  previous  experience 
of  country  life  :  a  large  proportion  indeed  have 
come  directly  from  the  towns.  Consequently  they 
have  neither  the  skill  nor  the  knowledge  of  English 
farmers,  nor  the  same  confidence  in  themselves. 
Hence  the  problem  of  helping  them  is  simplified.  The 
conditions  of  a  new  life  in  a  new  country  stimulate  a 
habit  of  inquiry  and  a  readiness  to  learn,  and  the 
continual  stream  of  settlers  from  abroad  or  from  other 
parts  of  the  continent,  bringing  with  them  a  varied  stock 
of  ideas  and  experience,  tends  to  keep  the  farming 
community  in  a  receptive  frame  of  mind.  Finally,  the 
old  protector  of  ignorance — the  system  of  using  up  the 
land  and  then  moving  to  fresh  areas — is  rapidly  becoming 
impossible.  The  farmer  is  faced  with  the  problem  of 
maintaining  the  fertility  of  his  land.  He  needs  help,  and 
he  knows  it.  For  these  reasons  the  scientific  agriculturist, 
the  expert,  and  the  agricultural  college  have  an  opportunity 
in  Canada  and  in  the  United  States  more  favourable  than 
that  which  exists  in  this  country.  The  admirable  use 
which  they  have  made  of  it  has  further  strengthened  their 
hold  upon  farming  opinion. 

(5)    Value  of  American  experience  in  agricultural  education. 
Scope  of  Practical  Suggestions. 

We  have  now  touched  upon  the  chief  circumstances 
which  differentiate  the  problem  of  agricultural  instruction 
in  America  from  the  same  problem  in  this  country.  We 
have  referred  to  the  climatic  differences,  the  contrast  in  the 
economic  position  of  agriculture,  the  larger  freedom  of 


VALUE  OF  AMERICAN  EXPERIENCE.     63 

opportunity  enjoyed  by  Universities  in  younger  commun- 
ities, the  relative  capacities  of  the  farmers,  and  their 
attitude  in  regard  to  agricultural  instruction.  In  our 
opinion  the  sum  total  of  these  differences  is  considerable, 
and  such  as  to  prohibit  the  hasty  application  to  English 
problems  of  generalisations  derived  from  the  study  of 
American  examples.  But  upon  the  other  hand,  apart 
from  these  differentiating  circumstances,  the  object 
of  agricultural  instruction  in  all  three  countries  is  the 
same.  It  is  to  help  the  farmer,  to  improve  agriculture,  to 
invigorate  country  life.  It  appears  to  us  to  be  unreasonable 
to  dismiss  as  irrelevant  and  useless  the  immense  and 
successful  experience  which  has  been  accumulated  in 
pursuit  of  these  aims  in  Canada  and  in  the  United  States. 
Even  if  it  were  true  that  we  have  nothing  to  learn  from 
their  methods,  we  should  still  have  to  admit,  with  or 
without  reluctance,  that  we  have  a  great  deal  to  learn 
from  their  spirit.  With  this  conviction  we  have  recorded 
our  impressions  of  the  institutions  visited,  and  of  their 
work  and  policy  ;  and  in  now  proceeding  to  develop  our 
ideas  about  agricultural  teaching  at  home,  we  shall 
frequently  refer  to  the  lessons  to  be  learned  from  Canada 
and  the  United  States. 

The  Deputation  was  appointed  by  the  Council  of 
University  College,  Reading,  with  the  primary  object  of 
presenting  a  Report  which  should  be  of  assistance  in 
developing  the  agricultural  department  of  that  institution. 
Though  we  hope  that  some  of  our  notes  and  observations 
may  be  of  interest  and  use  to  other  institutions  concerned 
with  similar  work,  it  appears  to  us  that  in  putting  forward 
any  practical  suggestions  we  should  keep  in  view,  in  the  first 
instance  at  least,  the  special  circumstances  of  the  College 
at  Reading.  This  Report  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  many 
persons  who  have  only  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the 
existing  work  of  the  College  in  agriculture  and  horticulture; 
and  therefore,  mainly  for  the  information  of  such  readers 
and  to  secure  a  complete  statement  of  the  whole  problem 
raised  for  our  consideration,  it  will  be  useful  at  this  point 
to  set  forth  briefly  what  that  work  is. 


64  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 


DEPARTMENT   OF   AGRICULTURE  AND   HORTICULTURE  AT 
UNIVERSITY  COLLEGE,  READING. 

( i )    General. 

University  College,  Reading,  was  founded  in  1892, 
and  incorporated  in  1896.  Since  an  inspection  by  the 
Treasury  Commissioners  in  1901,  the  College  has  held 
the  rank  of  a  University  College.  Of  recent  years  the 
Faculties  of  Letters  and  Science,  which  compose  the 
central  part  of  the  College,  have  grown  rapidly,  and  there 
are  now,  for  example,  nearly  1 20  students  reading  for  the 
degrees  (external)  of  B.A.  and  B.Sc.  of  London  University. 
The  College  was  re-established  in  1905  in  new  buildings 
upon  a  new  and  extensive  site.  There  are  Departments 
of  Fine  Arts,  Music,  Commerce,  and  Evening  Classes,  in 
addition  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  formed  in 
1893  upon  a  basis  of  grants  from  the  Board  of  Agriculture 
and  from  County  Councils.  The  teaching  of  Horticulture 
was  added  in  1902,  and  in  1903  a  farm  was  purchased. 
A  Committee,  representative  of  Oxford  University,  the 
Royal  Agricultural  Society,  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society,  and  the  College  awards  diplomas  in  Agriculture, 
Horticulture,  and  Dairying.  Since  1896,  the  Dairy 
Institute  of  the  British  Dairy  Farmers'  Association  has  been 
established  in  Reading.  The  Institute  is  the  property  of 
the  College,  was  moved  to  the  new  College  site  in  1909, 


UNIVERSITY     COLLEGE,     READING.      65 

is  managed  by  a  Joint  Committee  representing  the  College 
and  the  Association,  and  is  conducted  in  intimate  association 
with  the  Agricultural  Department,  which  it  adjoins.  The 
first  grant  by  the  Board  of  Agriculture  in  aid  of  agricultural 
teaching  at  Reading  was  given  in  1894,  and  amounted  to 
£150.  The  sum  was  increased  until  in  1897  ^  reached 
£800.  In  1905,  the  supplementary  grant  of  £200, 
granted  to  all  recognised  institutions  which  acquire  a 
College  Farm,  was  received  ;  but  otherwise  the  volume 
of  government  aid  to  agricultural  education  at  Reading 
has  remained  stationary  for  thirteen  years.  In  the  summer 
of  1910,  however,  the  Board  signified  their  intention 
of  giving  the  College  a  special  grant  in  aid  of  Horticulture  ; 
the  amount  of  the  grant  is  not  at  present  (November,  1910) 
known.  A  separate  grant  of  £300  a  year  is  paid  by  the 
Board  to  the  British  Dairy  Institute  Joint  Committee  in 
respect  of  the  Institute's  work.  The  County  Council 
grants  received  by  the  College — from  Reading,  Berkshire, 
Oxfordshire,  Buckinghamshire,  and  Hampshire — are 
relatively  small.  They  amount  in  all  to  less  than  £2,000 
annually,  and  of  this  sum  only  a  portion  is  available  for 
Agriculture.  Unfortunately,  the  general  revenue  of  the 
College  is  by  no  means  in  a  condition  to  bear  the  burden 
consequently  imposed  upon  it. 

(2)    Buildings. 

The  buildings  devoted  exclusively  to  the  purpose  of 
the  Department  are  not  extensive.  They  consist  of  a 
separate  block,  erected  in  1905-6,  which  contains  class- 
rooms, bacteriological,  botanical  (agricultural), and  chemical 
(agricultural)  laboratories,  Director's  office,  and  one  or 
two  private  rooms  for  other  members  of  staff.  Immediately 
adjoining  is  the  British  Dairy  Institute.  The  Institute 
contains  milk-receiving,  butter-making,  and  milk-testing 
rooms  ;  rooms  for  the  manufacture  of  pressed,  unpressed, 
and  soft  cheeses  ;  and  ripening  rooms  for  the  different 
varieties  of  cheese.  It  is  equipped  with  the  best  modern 
apparatus  for  the  manufacture  of  dairy  produce,  including 
power-driven  separating  and  butter-making  plant,  a  steam 
turbine  separator,  and  cold  storage  plant. 


66  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  general  buildings 
of  the  College,  including  the  Hall,  Library,  and  Common 
Rooms,  and  the  laboratories  (Chemistry,  Botany,  Physics, 
Zoology,  and  Commerce)  are  used  by  the  students  of  the 
Department. 

(3)    Farm,  Fruit  Station^  and  (gardens. 

The  Farm,  141  acres  in  extent,  is  situated  at  Shinfield, 
two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  College.  The  soil  is 
somewhat  varied,  and  is  capable  of  growing  all  the 
common  crops.  The  rotation  is  adapted  mainly  for  the 
production  of  milk,  all  of  which  is  at  present  taken  by 
the  Dairy  Institute.  In  addition  to  1 1  acres  laid  out  as  a 
Fruit  Station,  there  are  60  acres  of  arable,  60  acres  of  grass, 
7  acres  of  wood,  and  3  acres  of  buildings.  In  addition  to 
buildings  already  existing  when  the  College  came  into 
possession,  new  farm  buildings  and  cottages  have 
been  erected.  A  field  of  about  8K  acres  is  reserved 
for  agricultural  experiments.  A  member  of  the  staff, 
who  holds  the  rank  of  Lecturer  in  Agriculture,  resides 
upon  the  Farm  and  superintends  its  management,  while 
a  general  supervision  is  exercised  by  a  Farm  Committee 
appointed  by  the  Council  of  University  College. 

Adjoining  the  main  College  site  is  a  tract  of  4  acres 
which  is  devoted  to  practical  Horticulture.  It  consists  of 
vegetable  and  flower-gardens  and  orchard,  and  is  provided 
with  sheds  for  potting  and  packing,  an  office,  a  demonstra- 
tion room,  a  workshop,  and  a  fruit  store.  It  contains  a 
large  number  of  pits  and  frames  and  15  glass-houses 
(greenhouses,  vineries,  peach  house,  etc.).  Intensive 
cultivation  of  early  vegetables  is  carried  on  in  a  portion  of 
the  ground  equipped  with  bell-glasses. 

(4)    Courses  °f  Instruction. 

The  following  courses  of  instruction  are  provided  : — 

(a)  Degree  course  in  Agriculture. — The  course,  which 
extends  over  a  minimum  period  of  three  years,  is  in 
preparation  for  the  Intermediate  and  Final  Examinations 
of  the  B.Sc.  degree  (external)  in  Agriculture  of  the 
University  of  London. 


UNIVERSITY     COLLEGE,     READING.      67 

(b)  Diploma  of  Associateship  Course  in  Agriculture. — 
This  is  a   two   years'   course    (two  sessions  of  30  weeks 
each)    designed   for    those    who    may    hereafter    become 
tenant  farmers,  farm  managers,  land  agents,  or  landlords. 
The  first  year  is  spent  chiefly  in  the  study  of  the  sciences 
upon    which    the    practice    of   Agriculture    is    founded. 
Instruction  is  also  given  in  Agriculture  proper  by  lectures 
and  practical  demonstrations  on   the  Farm,  in  Surveying, 
and  in  Book-keeping.      In  the  second  year,  the  student  is 
instructed  in   the  application   of  these  sciences  to  Agri- 
culture, as  well  as  in  the  more  advanced  details  of  farm 
management.      Practical     work     in    the     British     Dairy 
Institute    is     included,    and    competence     in     prescribed 
manual   farm   operations   is  required.      A  Diploma  with 
Distinction  is  awarded  to  students  who,  having  passed  the 
examinations  for  the   Diploma    in  Agriculture,   spend  a 
third  year  at  the  College  in  pursuing  special  studies  in 
Agriculture,  and  pass  an  examination  in  connexion  there- 
with. 

(c)  Diploma  of  Associateship  Course  in  Horticul- 
ture.— This  is  a  two  years'  course   (two  sessions  of  40 
weeks'  each)   designed  for  those  who  intend  to  take  up 
Horticulture   as  a   career.      It   provides   training   in    the 
sciences  on  which  the  practice  of  Horticulture  is  based, 
in  the  growing  and  marketing  of  vegetables,  flowers  and 
fruit,  and  in   Book-keeping.      Students  spend  upwards  of 
20   hours   a   week   in   the    gardens.       A    Diploma    with 
Distinction  is  awarded  under  conditions  similar  to  those 
attaching  to  the  Diploma  with  Distinction  in  Agriculture. 

(d)  The    Certificate   Course    in   Agriculture. — This 
course  extends  over  six  months   (October  to  March)   and 
provides  instruction  in  Agriculture  and  in  elementary  science 
as  applied  to  Agriculture.      It  is  designed  primarily   for 
farmers'   sons,   who   having    had    practical    experience    of 
farm  work,  are  desirous  of  devoting  one  winter  to   the 
systematic    study    of  Agriculture. 

(e)  The  Certificate  Course  in  Horticulture. — This 
course  occupies  one  year,  and  is  of  a  more  practical  and 
technical  nature  than  the  Diploma  Course. 


68  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

(f )   Courses  in  Dairying.     These  are  : — 

(1)  Diploma    Course    in    Dairying. — This   course 
occupies  two  years  and  includes  scientific  and  practical 
dairying.      It  is  designed  for  those  who  hereafter  may  be 
teachers  of  dairying,  managers  of  dairy  farms,  or  creamery 
managers. 

(2)  Certificate  Course  in  Dairying. — This  course, 
which  occupies  one  year,  is  a  preparation  for  the  Diploma 
of  the  British    Dairy    Farmers'  Association,    or   for   the 
National  Diploma  in  Dairying,  as  well  as  for  the  College 
Certificate. 

(3)  Shorter  Courses  in  Dairying  occupy  six  months 
or   three   months. — These   are   conducted  by  the  Dairy 
Institute    and    the    College,    are    mainly    of  a    practical 
character,  and  conclude  with  examinations  upon  which  the 
certificate  of  the  British  Dairy  Farmers'  Association  may 
be  gained. 

(5)  Staff. 

The  Staff  consists  of  a  Director,  a  Professor  of 
Agricultural  Botany  and  an  Assistant,  two  Lecturers  in 
Agriculture  (one  of  whom  resides  at  the  College  Farm), 
a  Lecturer  and  Analyst  in  Agricultural  Chemistry,  a 
Lecturer  in  Veterinary  Hygiene,  a  Lecturer  and  Practical 
Instructor  in  Horticulture,  and  an  Assistant.  At  the 
British  Dairy  Institute  there  is  a  Manager  who  is  also 
Chief  Instructor,  and  an  Instructress.  There  are  four 
"  external  lecturers  "  whose  work  is  in  connexion  with 
the  neighbouring  counties  (see  p.  99).  It  is  important 
to  observe  that  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and 
Horticulture  relies  upon  the  aid  of  the  Professors  of 
Chemistry,  Physics,  Botany,  and  Zoology  in  the  Faculty 
of  Science,  and  is  able  to  use  their  laboratories.  Similar 
aid  is  received  from  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Technical  Subjects  :  e.g.  in  regard  to  Book-keeping, 
Agricultural  Engineering,  Surveying,  and  Meteorology. 

(6)  Students. 

(a)   Conditions    of    Admission. — Students    are    not 
admitted  to  the  Degree  (London  University)    Course  in 


UNIVERSITY    COLLEGE,    READING.       69 

Agriculture  until  they  have  passed  the  London  University 
Matriculation  examination.  Those  desirous  of  under- 
taking a  Diploma  Course  in  Agriculture  or  Horticulture 
must  (i)  pass  a  simple  entrance  examination,  or  produce 
evidence  of  having  passed  an  equivalent  test:  (2)  produce 
satisfactory  evidence  as  to  character,  and  as  to  the 
seriousness  of  their  purpose  in  becoming  Diploma  students. 

All  day  students  of  University  College  must  be  at  least 
1  6  years  of  age. 

(b)  Fees.  —  Students  whose  parents  reside  in  Reading, 
Berkshire,  Buckinghamshire,  Hampshire,  or  Oxfordshire, 
i.e.  within  areas  whose  County  Councils  contribute  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  College,  obtain  a  reduction  of  (in 
general)  25  per  cent,  upon  the  ordinary  tuition  fees. 

One  Session 

One  Term     One  Session     (Reduced  for  local 
(Three  Terms)  students) 

B.Sc.  (Agriculture)        \ 

Diploma  in  Agriculture  >jT  1  2         >C24  £>1^ 


Dairying 


Certificate  in  Agriculture 


Two  Terms 


£16 


One  Year 


Certificate  in  Dairying  >C3O 

Six  Months'  Course  in  Dairying 
Three 


Two  Terms 
(Reduced  for  local 
students) 

£12 

One  Year 
(Reduced  for  local 
students) 

£>24 


£10 


Diploma  in  Horticulture 
Certificate  in  Horticulture 


One  Session 
(Reduced  for  local 
students) 


One  Session 
(40  weeks) 

>C24  £1^ 

>C24  £1^ 

Proportionate  charges  are  made  to  students  who  may 
be  specially  admitted  for  shorter  periods  of  study. 

There    are   also   minor   charges   in   connexion    with 
examinations,  &c. 

(c)    Residence.  —  All  students  whose  homes  are   at   a 
distance  from  Reading,  following  full  courses  of  day  study, 


70  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION. 

are  required  to  reside  in  Wantage  Hall  (Men),  St.  Patrick's 
Hostel  (Men),  St.  Andrew's  Hostel  (Women),  St.  George's 
Hostel  (Women),  or  in  certain  cases,  in  Recognised  Houses 
under  the  supervision  of  the  College  authorities. 

The  cost  of  board  and  lodgings  for  a  session  of  30 
weeks  in  a  Hall  of  Residence  or  Recognised  House  varies 
from  about  £30  to  £45. 

The  total  cost  of  tuition,  board,  and  lodging  for  a 
session  of  30  weeks,  may  be  approximately  estimated  at 
about  £65  for  those  Diploma  Course  Students  in 
Agriculture  who  cannot  claim  any  reduction  in  tuition 
fees  on  the  ground  of  residence  within  the  area  of  a 
contributing  county.  For  Students  who  are  able  to 
claim  such  reduction,  the  total  cost  would  be  approximately 
£58.  Since  the  session  for  Horticultural  Students  extends 
to  40  weeks,  their  total  expenses  are  slightly  in  excess  of 
these  amounts. 

(7)    Extension  Worl^.      Experiments. 

The  Department's  principal  activities  outside  the 
College  within  the  area  of  the  contributing  counties  are  : 
(i)  Lectures  to  Farmers  and  Gardeners  (2)  Field 
Experiments  (3)  Identification  of  Pests,  Diseases,  &c. 
(4)  Analysis  of  Farm  seeds,  soils,  manures,  waters,  feeding 
stuffs,  dairy  produce,  &c.*  (5)  Advice  with  regard  to 
the  management  of  Gardens  and  Orchards  (6)  Issue 
of  Bulletins  and  Reports  on  Agricultural  subjects  (7) 
Examination  of  Schools,  judging  at  Agricultural  Shows, 
&c.  In  illustration,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  lectures  are 
given  at  selected  centres,  both  in  agriculture  and  horticulture, 
and  of  recent  years  well-attended  winter  courses  for  farmers 
and  gardeners  respectively  have  also  been  held  at  the 
College.  Demonstrations  in  butter-making  and  milk- 
testing  are  usually  given  at  the  Oxfordshire  Agricultural 

*  The  analytical  practice  of  University  College,  Reading,  is  in  accord  with  the 
principle  laid  down  by  the  Departmental  Committee.  "  The  Committee,  while 
of  opinion  that  analysis  for  commercial  or  trade  purposes  forms  no  part  of  the 
function  of  an  agricultural  college  in  receipt  of  State  aid,  consider  that  when 
analytical  work  is  distinctly  of  educational  value  it  may  properly  be  carried  out  by 
the  chemist  at  such  an  institution."  (Departmental  Committee  on  Agricultural 
Education.  [Cd.  4206]  p.  29). 


UNIVERSITY    COLLEGE,    READING.       71 

Show.  Inquiries  from  farmers  and  gardeners  increase  in 
number,  and  about  150  are  dealt  with  annually  by 
correspondence  and  visits.  Analytical  work  also  grows  ; 
about  240  samples  were  analysed  during  the  session  1 909- 1  o. 
The  chief  experiments  carried  out  on  the  College  Farm 
have  related  to  the  manuring  of  grass  and  other  crops, 
and  to  the  comparative  value  of  different  forms  of  nitro- 
genous fertilisers.  Trials  of  the  relative  merits  of  English, 
Scotch,  and  Irish  seed  potatoes  have  been  conducted  for 
the  Irish  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  various  crops  have 
been  tested  by  growth  in  plots.  Experiments  in  the 
manuring  of  grass  land  and  Swede  crops  have  been  carried 
out  on  twenty  Oxfordshire  farms.  Official  trials  of  400 
varieties  of  sweet  peas  have  been  conducted  in  the  gardens 
for  several  successive  years  for  the  National  Sweet  Pea 
Society  ;  and  these  trials  have  been  inspected  by  visitors 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  and  from  the  Continent  and 
the  United  States.  Other  experiments  and  trials  which 
need  not  here  be  detailed  are  also  carried  out  in  the 
gardens.  Numerous  publications  and  reports  dealing  with 
the  results  of  experiments  have  been  issued  by  the 
Department.  Other  publications  relating  to  agricultural 
and  horticultural  subjects  have  been  issued  by  members  of 
the  staff,  of  which  the  most  noteworthy  are  Professor 
Percival's  fourth  edition  of  his  "Agricultural  Botany," 
and  his  recently  published  treatise  on  "Agricultural 
Bacteriology." 

TWO-FOLD  NATURE  OF  PROBLEM. 

The  foregoing  sketch  of  the  agricultural  department 
shews  that  the  problem  of  agricultural  development  at 
Reading,  as  elsewhere,  resolves  itself  into  two  parts,  the 
internal  and  the  external.  There  is  the  problem  of  so 
organising  and  maintaining  agricultural  teaching  and 
research  within  the  Institution  that  both  shall  be  carried  on 
with  the  maximum  efficiency.  There  is  also  the  problem 
of  bringing  the  agricultural  department  into  helpful 
relations  with  the  agriculture  of  the  district ;  in  other 
words,  of  helping  the  local  farmer.  Both  these  tasks 
must  be  faced  in  any  policy  of  development  at  Reading, 


72  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

if  the  College  there  is  to  make  good  adequately  and 
permanently  its  claim  to  be  the  recognised  University 
centre  for  agricultural  instruction  throughout  a  wide  area. 
It  should  be  noted  that,  of  the  two  tasks,  the  internal 
of  necessity  has  the  priority  both  for  consideration  and  in 
importance.  The  first  duty  of  an  agricultural  college  is 
to  teach  its  students  well ;  and  to  accomplish  this  duty 
demands  many  conditions,  of  which  an  adequate  staff  is 
only  one.  Moreover,  if  the  internal  work  of  teaching 
and  research  is  well  done,  its  good  effects  are  bound  to  be 
felt  in  the  area  outside,  since  a  proportion,  possibly  a  large 
proportion,  of  the  students  of  the  College  will  certainly 
be  drawn  from  the  surrounding  district.  Upon  the  other 
hand,  while  it  would  be  futile  to  impose  an  ambitious 
programme  of  extension  activities  upon  a  staff  already 
overburdened  with  internal  duties,  an  agricultural  college 
fails  at  a  vital  point  unless  it  wins  the  interest  and 
confidence  of  farmers.  Not  only  does  it  fail  to  realise  its 
true  function,  but  it  loses  invaluable  support.  The 
significant  remark  on  a  preceding  page  (p.  27)  that 
the  College  at  Guelph  overflows  with  students  because 
Ontario  farmers,  by  means  of  the  Experimental  Union  and 
other  links,  are  interested  in  its  doings,  can  hardly  have 
escaped  notice.  In  England  the  confidence  of  farmers 
has  yet  to  be  won  ;  and  it  cannot  be  won  without  effort, 
— active,  well-directed,  capable,  and  persistent.  They 
cannot  know  about  the  College,  still  less  become  interested 
in  its  work,  unless  the  College  makes  itself  known  and 
interesting  to  them.  In  framing  the  following  observa- 
tions and  suggestions,  therefore,  we  have  kept  this  double 
function  of  an  agricultural  college  or  department — the 
internal  and  the  external — carefully  in  view. 


QUESTIONS    OF    INTERNAL    POLICY.     73 


QUESTIONS  OF  INTERNAL  POLICY. 

The  questions  of  internal  policy  to  which  we  desire 
to  call  attention  are  (i)  Staff  (2)  Curriculum  (3) 
Admission  and  Entrance  of  Students  (4)  The  Farm 
(5)  Experiments  and  Research  (6)  Buildings  (7)  After 
Careers  of  Students. 

(0   Staff. 

Nothing  can  be  more  in  accord  with  experience  and 
common  sense  than  the  truth  that  to  do  good  work  there 
must  be  good  men  to  do  it.  An  agricultural  department 
if  it  is  to  be  efficient  and  to  be  worthy  of  a  University 
institution,  must  command  four  kinds  of  ability  on  its 
staff.  There  must  be  ability  to  organise  and  direct  ; 
ability  to  teach  ;  ability  to  supervise  individual  students  ; 
and  ability  to  experiment  and  research.  One  of  the 
worst  and  most  common  blunders  in  making  appoint- 
ments is  to  fail  to  discriminate  between  these  kinds  of 
ability,  or  to  fail  to  provide  enough  of  each.  Because  a 
man  has  one  kind  of  ability  it  does  not  follow  that  he  has 
the  rest.  Directive  and  organising  faculty  does  not  always 
accompany  learning  ;  brilliance  in  research  sometimes 
goes  with  poor  teaching  ;  many  competent  teachers  lack 
imaginative  and  creative  powers  essential  for  the 
performance  of  research  of  the  highest  order  ;  and 
experience  shows  that  unless  students  are  handled  one  by 
one  as  well  as  collectively,  many  of  them  will  fail  to 
profit  as  they  ought  by  the  instruction  they  receive, 
however  excellent  it  may  be. 

In  the  first  instance,  therefore,  the  problem  of  staffing 
should  be  considered  from  this  point  of  view.  The 
principle  of  specialisation,  however,  should  be  carried 
further.  At  present,  both  at  Reading  and  elsewhere,  most 
members  of  the  teaching  staff  are  dealing  with  too  many 
subjects  of  instruction.  The  Departmental  Committee  on 
agricultural  education  rightly  called  attention  to  this  serious 


74  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION. 

flaw.*  "  The  quality  of  the  instruction  given  by  the 
colleges,  both  in  the  indoor  and  external  lectures,  has 
suffered  from  the  circumstance  that  teachers  have  been 
required  to  deal  with  too  many  subjects,  or  in  the  case  of 
agriculture  with  a  subject  too  wide  to  be  treated  effectively 
by  a  single  man.  '  Agriculture  '  as  defined  in  the  ordinary 
syllabus  covers  the  whole  range  of  arable  and  stock  farming, 
and  frequently  includes  such  related  subjects  as  estate 
management,  forestry,  fruit-farming,  and  market  garden- 
ing. Of  these  the  teacher  of  agriculture  is  supposed  to 
possess  an  expert  knowledge.  Though  there  may  be  no 
difficulty  in  acquiring  a  sufficient  acquaintance  with  all 
these  subjects  in  order  to  pass  examinations,  or  to  train 
students  to  pass  them,  a  higher  standard  of  knowledge  is 
required  in  teachers  in  universities  and  colleges.  The 
professor  must  be  an  expert  in  his  subject,  and  his  teaching 
must  be  such  as  will  be  of  value  not  only  to  the 
elementary  and  advanced  student,  but  in  the  case  of  a 
subject  like  agriculture,  to  the  experienced  practical  farmer. 
The  evidence  taken  by  the  Committee  clearly  shows  that 
the  advice  of  the  teacher  is  frequently  sought,  and  it  is 
obviously  desirable  that  the  practice  should  be  encouraged 
and  that  the  farmer,  when  in  a  difficulty,  should  learn  to 
resort  for  advice  with  as  much  confidence  to  the  agri- 
cultural expert  as  he  now  does  to  the  medical  specialist 
or  to  the  skilled  engineer.  But  if  the  knowledge  of  the 
teacher  of  agriculture  is  thus  to  be  sought  often,  the 
teacher  must  follow  the  example  of  similar  wide  subjects 
and  must  specialise."  "  Teachers  must  be  thoroughly 
trained  specialists."^ 

Efficient  teaching  of  university  standard  demands 
two  things,  a  high  personal  calibre  and  concentration 
upon  a  definite  line  of  study.  The  principle  of 
specialisation  of  teaching  functions  is  carried  to  a 
remarkable  length  in  America,  and  in  this  respect  we 
may  well  borrow  from  their  experience.  Unless  the 
principle  is  observed  in  all  except  quite  minor  appoint- 
ments, it  is  unreasonable  to  expect  an  agricultural 

•Departmental  Report  on  Agricultural  Education  [Cd.  4206]  p.  23. 
f  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Agriculture  [Cd.  5388]  p.  vii. 


INTERNAL    POLICY.     CURRICULUM.      75 

college  to  make  progress,  its  instructors  to  win 
reputation  and  respect,  or  its  performances  in  general 
to  satisfy  the  exacting  standards  of  external  critics.  In 
our  opinion,  the  first  step  in  any  policy  of  agricultural 
development  at  Reading  must  be  to  review  the  existing 
staffing  provision  in  the  light  of  the  principles  here  laid 
down.  It  will  probably  be  found  that  some  readjustments 
in  the  existing  distribution  of  duties,  and  certain  new 
appointments  in  connexion  with  special  branches  of 
agriculture  or  horticulture  are  required.  In  making  any 
new  appointment  of  major  rank,  it  is  impossible  to 
exaggerate  the  importance  of  securing  a  first-class  man. 
At  the  risk  of  wearisome  repetition,  we  reiterate  that  the 
question  of  personnel  goes  to  the  very  root  of  efficiency  in 
agricultural  instruction.  Associate  a  College  or  depart- 
ment with  men  of  conspicious  ability  and  energy,  and  it  is 
hardly  too  much  to  say  that  all  other  desirable  things 
will  follow  in  their  proper  places.  No  proposition 
receives  more  lip-homage  in  educational  circles,  and 
perhaps  none  is  more  frequently  flouted  in  practice.  We 
who  have  lately  seen  what  has  been  done  by  such  person- 
alities as  those  of  Babcock  at  Wisconsin,  Bailey  at 
Cornell,  Creelman  at  Guelph,  and  Robertson  at  Macdonald, 
desire  urgently  to  impress  upon  the  Council  of  University 
College,  Reading,  the  extreme  importance  of  bearing  this 
point  in  mind  in  any  policy  of  development  which  they 
may  think  proper  to  initiate. 

(2)    Curriculum. 

(a)  Control. — As  soon  as  a  College  has  attained  a 
sufficient  measure  of  competence  and  strength  as  a 
University  institution,  it  should  itself  determine  and 
control  its  principal  courses  of  study,  and  the  examinations 
in  connexion  with  them.  Any  system  by  which  syllabuses 
and  regulations  are  imposed  from  without  is  educationally 
indefensible,  and  is  inconsistent  with  the  freedom  and 
encouragement  of  initiative  and  development.*  In 
England,  as  in  America,  an  institution  of  recognised 

*  The  observation  applies  to  the  main  courses  of  College  study.  Here  there 
should  be  freedom.  But  this  freedom  is  quite  consistent  with  the  acceptance  of 
external  examinations  and  syllabuses  to  suit  a  minority  of  individual  cases.  The 
National  Diploma  Examinations  in  Dairying  and  Agriculture  are  instances. 


76  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

standing,  providing  agricultural  instruction,  should  be 
free  to  shape  its  educational  policy  in  accordance  with  its 
special  circumstances,  of  which  it  can  reasonably  claim  to 
have  a  better  knowledge,  and  to  be  a  better  judge,  than 
any  other  persons  or  authorities. 

(b)  Character  of  Courses. — The  general  scope  and 
variety  (as  distinct  from  details  of  syllabuses  and  procedure) 
of  the  courses  of  agricultural  instruction  which  it  is 
desirable  to  provide  at  Reading  is  much  the  same  as 
elsewhere,  whether  in  English  or  American  Colleges. 
The  broad  character  of  the  provision  must  always  be 
governed  by  consideration  of  the  types  of  persons  who 
seek  agricultural  education.  The  main  types  are  three, 
(i)  The  student  who  seeks  a  thorough  and  complete 
training  in  the  science  and  practice  of  Agriculture  in 
order,  most  probably,  that  he  may  qualify  as  a  farmer 
on  a  large  scale  or  as  an  expert  or  specialist  instructor. 
For  all  such  students,  as  well  as  for  students 
who  without  this  special  motive  desire  to  enter 
for  a  long  course  of  advanced  study,  a  degree  course, 
occupying  three  or  four  years,  is  a  necessity.  (2)  The 
student  who  as  a  rule  proceeds  directly  from  school  to 
College  in  order  to  receive  a  training  prior  to  becoming 
a  farmer  or  horticulturist,  at  home  or  abroad. 
Such  students  can  rarely  stay  at  College  more  than 
two  years,  and  for  them  a  two  years'  Diploma  course 
is  required.  (3)  The  student  who  having  left  school  at 
the  age  of  14  or  15  and  subsequently  having  engaged  in 
work  on  his  home  farm  or  other  farm,  wishes  to  improve 
his  knowledge  of  agriculture  by  six  or  nine  months'  study, 
chiefly  from  a  practical  point  of  view.  For  this  type  of 
student  a  Winter  Course  is  necessary,  with  possibilities  of 
extension,  e.g.,  in  Dairying.  Farm  Schools  supply  a 
similar  kind  of  training,  and  care  should  be  taken  to 
avoid  overlapping. 

These  are  the  main  types  of  students,  and  we 
consider  that  in  respect  of  duration  and  intention,  the 
four  year,  two  year,  and  six  months  courses  at  Reading 
are  suitably  designed  to  meet  their  needs. 


INTERNAL    POLICY.     CURRICULUM.      77 

At  Reading,  in  addition  to  the  above,  the  existence 
of  the  British  Dairy  Institute  enables  a  variety  of  short 
courses  in  dairying  to  be  offered,  for  which  there  is  a 
steady  demand. 

Three  other  needs  must  always  be  considered  and 
met.  (i)  Every  effort  should  be  made  to  give  facilities 
to  the  properly  qualified  postgraduate  student  who  wishes 
to  investigate  or  study  some  special  problem  of  Agriculture 
or  Horticulture.  The  Graduate  Schools  are  one  of  the 
most  striking  features  of  the  agricultural  Colleges  of 
Canada  and  of  the  United  States.  At  Cornell  at  the  time 
of  our  visit  there  were  58  graduate  students  working  in 
the  agricultural  laboratories;  at  Wisconsin,  in  1908-9,  24. 
The  numbers  of  such  students  in  English  Universities  and 
Colleges  are  relatively  small.  At  Reading  there  have 
been  several  whose  work  has  been  chiefly  in  connexion 
with  botanical  and  bacteriological  investigations.  The 
purpose  of  a  University  department  is  to  advance  knowledge 
as  well  as  to  distribute  it  ;  and  upon  every  ground  the 
research  student  should  be  encouraged.  Provided  that  no 
such  student  is  admitted  without  satisfactory  credentials, 
that  every  student  works  under  the  direction  of  a  professor 
who  approves  the  course  of  study  proposed,  that  the  total 
number  of  such  students  does  not  exceed  the  material 
resources  of  the  laboratories,  we  think  that  the  presence 
of  such  students  should  be  encouraged  in  every  way 
possible.  For  such  post-graduate  students  the  fees 
charged  should  be  nominal,  and  financial  aid  should  be 
forthcoming  for  certain  students  of  undoubted  ability 
who  need  it.  The  further  point  should  also  be  borne  in 
mind — that  it  is  by  a  post-graduate  system  that  the  existing 
generation  of  teachers  and  specialists  can  most  effectively 
pass  on  their  knowledge  to  their  successors.  (2)  The 
provision  of  vacation  courses  for  teachers  should  be  one  of 
the  regular  activities  of  the  Department.  Further  reference 
to  this  point  will  be  found  in  the  section  devoted  to 
external  questions  (see  p.  100).  (3)  Short  courses 
for  practical  farmers  should  form  a  regular  part  of  the 
work  of  the  specialists  on  the  teaching  staff.  Each 


78  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

course  should  last  three  or  four  days,  be  confined  to  one 
subject  treated  from  different  points  of  view  by  various 
members  of  the  staff,  and  be  illustrated  by  demonstrations 
at  the  College  Farm. 

(c)  The  teaching  of  Science. — The  relative  claim  of 
pure  sciences  in  an  agricultural  curriculum  such  as  that 
provided  at  Reading,  the  period  in  the  course  when  pure 
sciences  should  be  studied,  the  measure  of  proficiency  in 
purely  scientific  knowledge  to  which  a  degree  or  diploma 
student  should  attain,  are  difficult  questions.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  as  yet  any  wholly  satisfactory  treatment  of  them 
has  anywhere  been  devised.  Our  views  upon  these  points 
are  the  outcome  of  experience  at  home,  as  well  as  of 
observation  of  American  and  Canadian  practice  and  its 
results,  and  we  propose  to  give  frank  expression  to  them. 

All  the  American  and  Canadian  institutions  visited 
recognise  not  only  that  a  College  education  alone  cannot 
make  the  complete  farmer,  but  also  that  there  are  parts 
of  training  essential  to  a  farmer's  education  which  no 
College  can  effectively  provide.  Thus  they  assume,  in 
fact  they  impose  as  a  condition,  that  a  student  who  wishes 
to  enter  upon  one  of  the  long  courses  of  agricultural  study 
must  have  spent  at  least  one  year  working  upon  a  farm.* 
Upon  that  foundation  of  familiarity  with  farm-routine  they 
proceed  to  build,  concentrating  their  effort  upon  instructing 
the  student  in  modern  and  improved  methods  of  agriculture. 
It  is  not  their  aim  to  produce  the  finished  farmer.  An 
agricultural  college  can  no  more  do  that  than  a  school  of 
navigation  can  produce  a  captain  of  a  liner.  The  main 
function  of  the  agricultural  college  is  to  teach  the  best 
methods  of  farming.  Practical  experience  before  and 
after  the  college  course  is  what  makes,  and  what  alone  can 
make,  the  farmer;  but  if,  during  the  college  period,  he 
has  studied  and  mastered  the  best  agricultural  methods, 
and  has  undergone  the  mental  training  which  that  study 
involves,  his  chance  of  becoming  an  intelligent  and 
successful  farmer  is  much  increased. 

*  Cf.      Macdonald  College,  p.  17  ;    Guelph  College,  p.  25  ;     Cornell 
University,  p.  39. 


INTERNAL  POLICY.  TEACHING  OF  SCIENCE^ 

When,  however,  we  scrutinise  the  curricula  of 
agricultural  institutions  we  find  in  a  majority  of 
instances,  both  here  and  in  America,  that  the  instruction 
deemed  necessary  to  give  this  knowledge  of  better  methods 
of  agriculture  consists,  both  in  two  year  and  in  four  year 
courses,  partly  of  empirical  or  technical  instruction,  and 
partly  of  instruction  in  pure  science,  such  as  Physics  and 
Chemistry.  As  a  rule  during  the  first  half  of  the  course 
the  student's  time-table  is  occupied,  in  proportions  roughly 
equal,  by  studies  in  pure  science  and  studies  in  the 
technical  and  practical  subjects.*  Such  a  curriculum  is 
sanctioned  by  custom,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
principles  upon  which  it  is  suffered  to  rest  are  often 
reasoned  out.  The  student  whose  aim  is  to  become  a 
farmer,  and  the  student  whose  aim  is  to  become  an  expert 
or  specialist  instructor,  are  alike  subjected  to  this  system. 
In  our  opinion  the  system  is  wrong.  Signs  of  dissatisfaction 
with  its  results,  and  of  effort  to  adjust  the  claims  of  the 
respective  branches  of  study,  were  noted  by  us  in  America; 
and  we  believe  that  few  Colleges  in  England  have 
been  exempt  from  difficulties  and  discontent  arising  from 
this  source. 

The  question  is  so  important  as  to  deserve  close 
attention.  To  justify  the  present  method  in  agricultural 
education  of  University  standard,  according  to  which, 
during  the  first  two  years  of  the  course  half  of  the 
student's  time  is  devoted  to  "  science  "  and  half  to  technical 
subjects,  it  is  necessary  to  shew  either  that  such  study  of 
science  provides  a  really  valuable  training,  or  that  it  supplies 
useful  knowledge  which  is  directly  applicable  to  practical 
agriculture.  Now,  the  value  of  the  mental  training  and 
discipline  to  be  obtained  from  the  study  of  Chemistry,  or 
Physics,  or  Botany,  is  indisputable  ;  but  only  when  the 
study  is  carried  on  under  certain  conditions.  These 
conditions  are  that  the  study  shall  be  close  and  continuous, 
and  that  the  time  devoted  to  lectures  and  laboratory  work 
shall  be  ample.  Briefly,  the  study  must  be  thorough  if 

*  For  details  upon  this  point,  see  particulars  of  courses  of  instruction  as  given   in 
the  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  and   Fisheries,  1910  [Cd.  5388.] 


80  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

the  good  is  to  result.  But  agricultural  students  required 
to  study  technical  subjects  and  pure  sciences  simultaneously 
are  unable  to  give  to  their  scientific  studies  either  the 
requisite  time  or  concentration  of  mind.  Consequently 
they  gain  only  a  small  part  of  the  intellectual  stimulus 
and  discipline  which  should  result  from  the  study  of 
science.  Moreover,  although  agriculture  is  based 
upon  science,  yet  the  direct  bearing  of  Chemistry 
or  Physics  upon  Agriculture  is  hardly  to  be  grasped  by 
students  with  only  a  smattering  of  these  sciences  ;  and 
therefore  the  practical  value  of  the  scientific  knowledge 
possessed  by  an  ordinary  agricultural  student  at  the  end  of 
two  years'  study,  pursued  under  the  unsatisfactory 
conditions  described,  is  almost  nil.  Much  of  the 
knowledge  which  he  acquired,  being  unrelated  to  his 
practical  interests,  is  quickly  forgotten  ;  and  there  remains 
to  him  no  permanent  benefit  of  training  and  only  a  small 
stock  of  scientific  knowledge,  little  of  which  is  capable 
of  application  in  his  work  as  a  farmer.  Students 
themselves  are  conscious  of  the  futility  of  studying  science 
under  the  conditions  which  usually  prevail.  Their 
attitude  towards  it  is  not  "friendly."  They  feel  that  it 
stands  between  them  and  their  agriculture :  and  their 
feeling  is  often  only  too  well  justified.  In  our  opinion, 
the  comparative  fewness  of  serious  agricultural  students  in 
this  country  is  in  part  due  to  dissatisfaction  with  the 
curriculum.* 

The  present  system  is  equally  unsatisfactory  if  we 
consider  it  in  relation  to  the  small  group  of  really  able 
students  who  take  up  the  study  of  agriculture.  When 
such  men  enter  upon  a  course  of  study  as  described,  partly 
scientific  and  partly  technical,  they  are  apt  to  suffer  in  two 
ways.  First,  their  progress  is  impeded  by  the  low 
standards  of  the  average  student  for  whom  the  course  in 
science  has  been  planned;  and  secondly,  they  tend  because 
of  their  ability  and  antecedents  to  neglect  their  practical 

*  It  is  worth  noting  that  at  Reading  the  student  of  Horticulture  spends  a  relatively 
larger  amount  of  time  in  "  practical "  studies  than  the  student  of  Agriculture. 
Opinion,  even  of  those  who  teach  him  pure  science,  would  certainly  not  pronounce 
the  horticultural  student  less  intelligent  or  less  keen. 


INTERNAL  POLICY.  TEACHING  OF  SCIENCE.8 1 

agriculture  in  favour  of  science.  And  yet  precisely 
because  these  more  intellectual  men  are  usually  without 
experience  of  farm  work,  it  is  important  that  the 
practical  side  of  agriculture  should  from  the  first  arouse 
and  hold  their  interest  and  attention.  Otherwise, 
agriculture  is  likely  to  suffer  serious  losses.  For  these  are 
the  very  men,  however  small  their  numbers,  who  are 
capable  of  becoming  able  investigators  and  teachers,  or 
really  "  inventive  "  farmers.  If,  however,  agriculture 
is  to  profit  by  their  abilities,  agriculture  must  be  the 
predominant  interest  throughout  the  course  of  training 
of  these  abler  students.  They  must  be  agriculturists 
first,  and  men  of  pure  science  afterwards.  In  our  opinion 
the  courses  of  instruction,  as  ordinarily  arranged,  are  not 
calculated  to  produce  this  desirable  result. 

It  appears  to  us  that  a  better  procedure  would  be  the 
following.  Before  admission  to  one  of  the  longer  courses 
in  agriculture,  a  student  should  have  at  least  a  fair  acquaint- 
ance with  ordinary  farm  routine.  He  cannot  gain  this 
acquaintance  unless  he  spends  at  least  one  year  in  practical 
work  on  a  farm.*  The  first  two  years  of  the  College 
course  should  be  devoted,  by  all  students  alike,  to  the 
definitely  agricultural  subjects,  and  to  subsidiary  subjects 
such  as  book-keeping  and  mathematics.  Instruction 
should  also  be  given  in  the  simpler  technical  facts  of 
soils  and  manures,  farm  weeds,  and  the  common  disease- 
producing  fungi  and  insects,  as  well  as  in  the 
care  and  use  of  farm  implements.  Such  courses 
should  be  short,  thorough,  limited  in  scope,  and 
precise  in  application.  They  should  not  spread  away 
into  an  attempt,  impossible  under  the  conditions,  to  teach 
the  general  principles  and  procedure  of  Chemistry, 
Botany,  Physics,  and  Zoology.  On  the  other  hand,  we  are 
strongly  of  opinion  that  in  most  agricultural  courses  the 
"  culture "  side  is  insufficiently  developed,  although 
agricultural  students,  as  a  rule  are  by  no  means  in  a 
position  to  neglect  it.  A  system  of  weekly  essays  gives 
opportunity  for  improving  composition,  and  of  directing 

*  Further  reference  to  this  proposal  will  be  found  on  p.  84 


82  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

reading.  It  will  have  been  noticed  that  the  inclusion  of 
simple  courses  in  Literature  and  History  is  a  feature  of 
the  agricultural  curricula  at  the  Macdonald  and  Guelph 
Colleges,  and  we  appreciate  the  importance  of  the  object 
which  these  courses  have  in  view.  The  provision  of 
such  teaching  should  present  no  difficulty  to  an  Agri- 
cultural Department  which  is  incorporated  in  a  University 
institution.* 

The  decisive  point  in  the  curriculum  would  be 
reached  at  the  end  of  two  years.  Students  then  segregate 
into  three  groups  :  (a)  those  who  having  obtained 
the  practical  instruction  they  needed  proceed  to  take  up 
farming  at  home  or  abroad  ;  (b]  those  who  desire  to  stay 
a  third  year  in  order  to  study  more  fully  some  one  branch 
of  agriculture  ;  and  (c)  those  who  wish  to  complete  their 
training  as  experts  or  specialists  by  a  further  two  years  of 
study.  The  last  group,  who  may  be  described  as  "  degree  " 
students,  should  receive  special  attention,  despite  their 
small  numbers,  because  of  their  ability  and  serious  purpose. 
By  the  beginning  of  the  second  period  of  two  years, 
these  degree  students  on  the  one  hand  will  have  become 
keenly  interested  in  the  practical  side  of  agriculture,  and 
on  the  other  hand  will  be  feeling  the  imperative  need  of 
more  scientific  knowledge.  Instead  of  the  reluctance  which 
is  at  present  usually  felt  by  an  agricultural  student  when 
called  upon  to  study  sciences  at  the  beginning  of  his 
course  (whereas  he  had  set  his  heart  upon  studying 
agriculture),  it  may  be  confidently  anticipated  that  these 
degree  students  will  now  work  with  zest  and  vigour  at 
such  sciences  as  Botany  and  Chemistry  in  relation  to 
Agriculture,  and  that  their  progress  in  scientific  knowledge 
will  be  more  satisfactory  and  rapid  than  under  the  old 
system.  It  is  not  now  necessary  to  plan  the  curriculum  in 
detail,  but  it  is  obvious  that  during  the  third  and  fourth  years 
the  student  should  give  a  large  portion  of  his  time  to  the 

*  A  well-illustrated  course  of  lectures  dealing  with  the  progress  of  English 
agriculture,  and  shewing  how  almost  every  step  has  been  due  to  individual 
experiment  and  the  application  of  scientific  ideas  to  practice,  would  not  only 
instruct  the  student  in  a  most  important  branch  of  social  history,  but  should 
increase  his  respect  for  scientific  and  enlightened  methods  of  agriculture. 


INTERNAL  POLICY.  TEACHING  OF  SCIENCE.83 

two  basic  sciences,  Botany  and  Chemistry,  while  continuing 
the  study  of  strictly  agricultural  subjects.  For  the  training 
of  specialists,  postgraduate  study  for  a  further  period, 
possibly  the  condition  of  an  honours  degree,  should  also 
be  organised,  and  it  might  be  well  to  adopt  the  practice 
of  Canadian  and  American  Universities*  of  requiring  such 
students  to  write  a  thesis  upon  an  approved  subject. 

Thus  the  essence  of  our  observations  upon  curriculum 
is  that  the  first  part  of  the  route  to  competence  in 
scientific  agriculture  lies  through  technical  and  practical 
study.  We  believe  that  the  progress  of  agricultural 
education  of  a  University  standard  has  been  retarded  in 
this  country  by  the  attempt  to  force  science  upon  the 
student  at  the  wrong  point  in  his  career.  The  prime 
consideration  in  a  practical  teaching  policy  is  to  keep 
alive  and  vigorous  the  student's  interest  in  agriculture, 
and  not  to  submerge  it  by  an  unseasonable  deluge  of  what 
he  is  apt  to  regard  as  tiresome  and  irrelevant  studies. 
We  have  confidence  that  if  he  is  given  the  agricultural 
curriculum  which  he  desires,  the  intelligent  student  will 
form  naturally  and  independently  an  ambition  to  possess  a 
more  extensive  acquaintance  with  the  sciences  upon  which 
the  practice  of  agriculture  rests.  We  found  in  America, 
for  instance  at  Macdonald  (p.  15)  and  Wisconsin  (p.  46), 
much  to  enforce  the  reasonableness  of  our  view.  If  this 
view  should  prove  to  be  correct,  it  will  be  of 
little  use  to  denounce  it  as  heretical  :  for  the  result  will 
be  that  the  advanced  student  will  study  science  to  better 
purpose  than  in  the  past,  and  that  the  scheme  of  his 
curriculum  will  be  in  harmony  with  the  natural  trend  of 
his  intellectual  development. 

(3)    ^Admission  and  Entrance  of  Students. 

An  examination  of  the  statistics  of  students  attending 
agricultural  Departments  and  Colleges  in  this  country 
suggests  that  probably  few  of  these  institutions  are  able  to 
enforce  entrance  conditions  with  severity.  At  Reading, 
during  recent  years  increased  strictness  has  been  exercised, 

*   At  Cornell  post-graduate  courses  extend  to  three  years,  making  a  total  training 
period  of  seven  years. 


84  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

and  we  urge  that  the  standards  of  admission  should  be 
gradually  raised  until  no  student  is  accepted  for  one  of  the 
longer  courses  who  is  not  in  ability  and  purpose  clearly 
fitted  to  pursue  the  course  of  study  with  advantage  to 
himself  and  the  Department. 

The  point  is  of  capital  importance  in  relation  to 
efficiency.  Experience  shows  everywhere  that  the 
agricultural  college  is  too  often  regarded  as  the  last  refuge 
of  the  incompetent.*  Thither,  unless  checked  by  admission 
barriers,  betake  themselves  some  of  the  idlers,  dullards, 
and  failures  of  school,  as  well  as  the  serious  and  capable 
student.  Others  seek  admission  because  an  outdoor 
career  has  been  recommended  as  a  corrective  of  some 
physical  or  mental  ailment,  and  of  these  only  a  proportion 
are  capable  of  becoming  satisfactory  students.  In  all  such 
cases  scrutiny  by  the  College  authorities  is  imperative, 
and  a  policy  of  sifting  and  rejection  should  be  pursued. 
The  advantage  of  larger  fee  receipts  and  larger  numbers 
is  dearly  purchased  if  it  means  lowering  the  standards  of 
work  and  retarding  the  progress  of  the  capable  student, 
through  the  admission  of  the  backward  or  unfit. 

Our  chief  observation  under  this  heading,  however, 
relates  to  the  condition  of  previous  experience  of  farm 
work.  In  the  preceding  section  we  have  urged  that 
before  admission  to  one  of  the  longer  courses  in  agriculture 
a  student  should  show  that  he  is  acquainted  with 
ordinary  farm  routine.  The  advantages  resulting  from  the 
application  of  this  condition  are  so  obvious  and  great,  and 
so  clearly  illustrated  by  American  and  Canadian  experience, 
that  it  is  hardly  needful  to  discuss  them.  Nevertheless, 
we  recognise  that  there  might  be  difficulty  in  applying 
the  condition  in  its  entirety  at  once.  We  suggest,  therefore, 
that  in  adopting  it  at  Reading,  it  should  be  accompanied 
by  an  alternative,  namely,  that  students  unable  to  shew  a 
previous  experience  of  one  year  upon  a  farm  must  spend, 
either  during  the  vacations  of  their  first  two  years  at 

*  Cf.  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  1910  [Cd.  5388],  p.  vii., 
"  The  experience  of  most  of  those  who  have  been  engaged  in  the  teaching  of 
Agriculture  is  that  the  quality  of  the  students  admitted  to  our  agricultural  colleges 

is  often  unsatisfactory." 


INTERNAL    POLICY.     THE    FARM.       85 

College,  or  at  least  before  starting  on  their  third  year's 
course,  a  sufficient  period  on  a  farm  under  approved 
conditions.  A  similar  condition  should  be  imposed  in 
reference  to  two  year  courses  of  study.  It  should 
be  possible  to  arrange  that  some  at  least  of  these 
students  should  gain  their  practical  experience  by  working 
on  the  College  Farm.* 

(4)    The  Farm. 

A  College  Farm  should  fulfil  three  main  functions. 
(a)  It  should  serve  the  purpose  of  an  agricultural 
laboratory  where  students  are  instructed  in  general 
agricultural  practice.  If  this  educational  object  is  to  be 
attained,  it  is  evident  that  the  Farm  cannot  be  conducted 
merely  for  commercial  profit.  For  example,  students 
cannot  be  taught  to  milk  except  at  the  expense  of  the 
milk-yield  ;  it  is  probable  that  some  live  stock  not  very 
well  suited  to  the  district  must  be  kept  for  demonstration 
purposes  ;  and  some  crops  must  be  grown,  because  of 
their  importance  elsewhere,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
soil  of  the  Farm  may  not  be  specially  adapted  to  them. 
These  are  the  first  conditions  of  an  educational  farm,  and 
they  at  once  differentiate  its  purpose  and  management 
from  that  of  a  purely  commercial  undertaking,  (b]  The 
Farm  should  carry  on  experiments.  As  far  as  possible, 
these  should  relate  to  the  problems  of  the  district  and  be 
suggested  by  practical  farmers,  who  will  thereby  have  an 
additional  interest  in  visiting  the  College,  and  will  be  more 
likely  to  respect  and  to  co-operate  with  its  experimental 
work.  Farmers  not  seldom  visit  the  Farm  at  Reading, 
and  have  always  shewn  considerable  interest  in  the 
experiments  there  ;  but  there  is  room  for  a  great 
development  in  this  respect,  (c)  The  third  function  of  a 
College  Farm  is  to  demonstrate  a  typical  branch  of 
local  agriculture,  carried  on  in  the  best  possible  way  as  a 
going  and  economical  concern.  At  Reading  the  branch 
of  agriculture  selected  should  be  dairy  farming.-f-  We 

*  Cf.  practice  in  this  respect  at  Guelph. 

f  The  Farm  at  Reading  possesses  an  excellent  market  for  milk  in  the  University 
College,  and  its  halls  of  residence,  and  in  the  British  Dairy  Institute. 


86  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

do  not  enter  here  into  the  question  of  the  best  method 
of  organising  the  management  of  such  a  Farm.  The 
assistance  of  an  Advisory  Committee  of  farmers  in 
connexion  with  it  would  be  of  obvious  value,  for  in  this 
way  their  sympathy  and  interest  is  most  readily  to  be 
obtained.  The  criticism  of  practical  men  and  their 
discussion  of  the  methods  and  experiments  practised  on 
the  Farm  would  in  themselves  be  guarantees  that  a  sound 
policy  would  be  pursued. 

Briefly  then,  we  consider  that  the  educational  side  of 
a  College  Farm,  and  the  side  which  is  managed  on 
specialised  and  strictly  commercial  lines,  are  both  necessary 
for  obtaining  the  best  results  ;  that  they  respresent  distinct 
and  separate  functions,  and  that  confusion  between  them 
is  one  of  the  reasons  why  College  Farms  often  fail  to 
convince  either  the  farmer  or  the  man  of  science.  For 
the  result  of  an  unsatisfactory  compromise  is  that  the  farms 
do  not  pay  because  their  experimental  and  educational 
work  is  costly,  while  their  experiments  are  apt  to  be 
starved  and  unconvincing  through  fear  of  balance  sheets. 
The  difficulty  can  only  be  surmounted  by  the  division  of 
the  Farm  into  two  separate  parts  ;  one  for  teaching  and 
experiment,  the  other  for  commercial  demonstration. 

(5)    Experiments  and  Research. 

It  is  increasingly  felt  that  a  University  Department 
should  have  as  one  of  its  principal  aims  and  activities  the 
carrying  on  of  experiments  and  of  research.  "  In  higher 
institutions  providing  agricultural  education,  original 
work  should  not  only  be  encouraged,  but  expected." 
Reputation  and  efficiency  of  teaching,  in  other  words, 
the  prosperity  of  the  Department,  both  depend  upon  the 
degree  of  sincerity  and  effectiveness  with  which  this  aim 
and  this  activity  are  pursued.  Yet  there  still  is  much 
that  is  haphazard  and  unsatisfactory  about  this  aspect  of 
agricultural  education.  Without  entering  upon  the  wider 
questions  which,  it  is  understood,  are  at  present  engaging 
the  attention  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  in  connexion 

*  Report  of  Departmental  Committee  [Cd.  4206],  p.  26. 


INTERNAL    POLICY.     RESEARCH.         87 

with  the  schemes  of  the  Development  Commission,  we 
suggest  that  the  research  question  should  be  considered  in 
such  a  Department  as  that  at  Reading  from  three  points 
of  view.  (i)  Whilst  facilities  should  be  provided  to 
enable  specially  qualified  members  of  staff  to  pursue 
researches,  the  immediate  practical  applications  of  which 
may  not  be  obvious,  the  main  research  effort  of  the  staff 
should  concentrate  upon  the  investigation  of  local  problems. 
If  this  aim  is  to  be  effectively  attained,  the  staff  should 
include  specialists,  each  of  whom  should  base  his  programme 
of  researches  upon  a  survey  of  the  agriculture  of  the 
region  over  which  the  influence  of  the  College  extends. 
The  purpose  of  the  researches  should  be  to  elucidate  the 
ways  in  which  the  agricultural  practice  of  the  region  is 
capable  of  improvement,  and  whenever  a  point  is  established 
experimentally,  it  should  receive  demonstration  upon  the 
College  Farm,  and  elsewhere,  in  order  that  publicity  may 
be  given  to  it.  (2)  The  continual  repetition  of  experiments, 
the  results  of  which  are  foregone  and  accepted  truths,  is 
to  be  deprecated.  Nevertheless,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  "  demonstration  "  is  as  important  from  the  practical 
point  of  view  as  research  itself,  and  therefore  provision 
should  be  made — and  at  Reading  is  made — for  demonstra- 
tion experiments  in  different  parts  of  the  area.*  (3)  How 
is  the  work  of  experiment  and  research  to  be  organised  in 
reference  to  the  staff?  No  member  of  the  staff  should 
be  wholly  occupied  with  teaching.  Each  should  have 
enough  time  either  for  laboratory  research,  or  for  work 
of  investigation  and  demonstration  in  the  field.  "  Each 
teacher  must  be  expected  to  work  at  his  subject  ;  the 
agriculturist  must  farm;  the  chemist  work  in  his  laboratory; 
and  so  with  the  others,  otherwise  college  teachers  would 
soon  become  unfit  for  the  positions  they  occupy."^' 
Nevertheless,  it  is  certain  that  not  all  the  members  of  an 
agricultural  staff  are  likely  to  be  able  to  carry  out  original 
investigation  of  the  highest  kinds.  In  making  appoint- 

*  Agricultural  university  institutions,  might  well  agree  to  conduct,  more  often, 
simultaneous  trials  and  demonstrations  of  new  methods  suggested  by  researches, 
which  are  not  extensively  known  among  the  agricultural  community. 

f  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  1910,  [Cd.  5388],  p.  vii. 


88  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

merits,  it  ought  always  to  be  recognised  that  some  men 
are  wanted  primarily  for  teaching,  and  that  among  such 
men  there  are  some  who  are  not  able  to  carry  out 
independent  investigation.  To  insist  upon  such  men 
attempting  research  of  the  higher  order  is  useless. 
Their  function  is  to  teach,  and  to  conduct  under 
direction  trials  and  demonstrations.  The  latter  work  is 
not  research,  and  should  not  be  confused  with  it.* 
Nevertheless,  as  we  have  already  observed,  it  is  important 
work,  and  those  who  are  associated  with  it,  retain  touch 
with  practical  agriculture,  and  are  not  likely  to  degenerate 
into  merely  academic  agriculturists.  Other  men,  on  the 
contrary,  should  primarily  be  researchers,  though  it  is 
desirable  that  they  should  also  lecture  on  their  special 
subjects.  The  majority  of  the  staff  should  both  research 
and  teach,  for  this  is  the  ideal  condition  for  the  University 
agriculturist. 

(6)    'Buildings. 

The  existing  buildings  of  the  Agricultural  Department 
are  excellent  as  far  as  they  go,  but  even  though 
supplemented  by  the  adjacent  British  Dairy  Institute,  it 
is  already  evident  that  any  considerable  increase  in  the 
number  of  students  using  them,  or  the  addition  of  new 
members  of  staff,  would  make  an  enlargement  of  them 
indispensable.  Fortunately,  the  style  of  building  adopted 
by  the  Council  of  University  College,  Reading,  is  very 
simple  and  economical.  The  laboratory  buildings  can 
best  be  described  as  single-storey  workshops.  They  have 
proved  most  satisfactory  in  use,  and  their  simplicity  of 
construction  makes  it  possible  to  build  substantial  additions 
to  them  at  moderate  cost.  Agriculture  and  Horticulture 
will  certainly  require  more  laboratory  and  class-room 

*  Cp.  on  this  important  point  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture, 
1910,  [Cd.  5388]  p.  xii.  "The  "  expert"  agriculturist  laving  out  manurial  plots 
on  a  farm,  or  the  chemist  analysing  agricultural  products  in  his  laboratory,  may 
be  no  more  engaged  in  research  than  the  farm  labourer,  or  the  miller,  carrying 
out  his  routine  tasks.  In  order  that  work  may  become  research  it  must  satisfy 
one  or  both  of  two  conditions  (i)  it  must,  as  a  result  of  observation  or  experiment, 
result  in  the  collection  of  fresh  facts  :  (2)  it  must  involve  an  examination  of  the 
facts  collected,  or  phenomena  observed,  and  the  reduction  of  these  to  a  form  in 
which  they  constitute  an  addition  to  knowledge." 


INTERNAL  POLICY.  STUDENTS' CAREERS.  89 

accommodation  in  the  near  future,  and  we  think  that  the 
agricultural  buildings  would  be  made  more  interesting 
and  useful  to  students  and  farmers  if  they  included  a 
well-arranged  agricultural  museum  and  a  machinery  hall, 
where,  as  for  example  at  Guelph  or  Macdonald,  specimens 
of  the  best  types  of  agricultural  machines  and  implements 
could  be  kept  for  educational  purposes.  One  of  the 
conditions  of  success  alike  for  a  College  or  for  a  Department 
is  to  possess  buildings  with  interesting  contents  ;  and  we 
think  that  the  Agricultural  Department  at  Reading  is 
not  as  well  provided  in  this  respect  as  it  should  be. 

(7)    After  careers  of  Students. 

It  was  stated  on  a  previous  page  (p.  40.)  that  9 1  per 
cent,  of  the  ex-students  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  at 
Cornell  University  were  engaged  in  farming,  or  were 
pursuing  some  line  of  work  directly  allied  to  agriculture. 
So  high  a  proportion  compels  us  to  realise  that  the 
subsequent  career  of  an  agricultural  student  in  Canada  or 
the  United  States  is  exempt  from  many  of  the  difficulties 
experienced  here.  For  him  land  is  available,  and  he 
proceeds  to  farm  it.  Very  different  are  the  conditions 
which  characterise  a  country  of  old  occupation.  A 
student  at  an  English  college  may  give  every  promise  of 
practical  ability  as  a  farmer,  but  it  by  no  means  follows 
that  a  farmer's  career  will  be  open  to  him  at  home.  He 
may  become  a  teacher  of  agriculture,  or  he  may  emigrate 
in  order  to  become  a  farmer  in  a  distant  land,  within  or 
without  the  Empire,  unless  he  is  fortunate  enough  to 
command  an  opening  as  a  farmer  in  England.  We 
venture  to  suggest  that  more  might  be  done  to  help  such 
a  student  to  secure  a  suitable  career  than  is  done  at 
present.  It  should  be  the  business  of  some  organisation, 
working  upon  the  lines,  for  example,  of  the  Cambridge 
Appointments  Committee,  and  representing  perhaps  not 
one  institution  but  several,  to  try  to  find  opportunities  and 
careers  in  this  country  as  well  as  abroad,  for  young  men 
of  agricultural  ability. 


9o  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 


QUESTIONS  OF  EXTERNAL  POLICY. 

THE  OPPORTUNITY  OF  THE  COLLEGE. 

The  nucleus  of  the  College  at  Reading  came  into 
being  only  eighteen  years  ago.  Ten  years  were  absorbed 
in  the  effort  to  gain  status  as  a  University  institution. 
The  chief  tasks  and  achievements  of  the  second  decade, 
thus  far,  have  been  the  rebuilding  of  the  College  upon 
a  new  site,  and  its  endowment  ;  the  recasting  of  its 
internal  organisation,  and  a  great  extension  of  its  scheme 
of  residential  halls.  In  the  meanwhile,  sharing  in  the 
rapid  advance  of  the  College,  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  and  Horticulture  has  developed  from  small 
beginnings  until  in  respect  of  the  number  of  long-course 
students  in  attendance  it  has  become  the  largest  agricultural 
department,  with  the  exception  of  that  at  Cambridge,  in 
connexion  with  any  University  institution  in  England  and 
Wales.*  Moreover,  as  already  stated  (p.  64)  the  resources 
of  the  Department  (e.g.  horticultural  ground,  Farm, 
British  Dairy  Institute,  new  buildings)  have  during  the 
same  period  been  greatly  improved  and  extended.  Thus 

*  The  statement  is  based  upon  the  statistics  in  the  latest  Annual  Report  of  the 
Board  of  Agriculture,  1910.  [Cd.  5388].  The  Report  shews  that,  in 
1908-9  of  students  taking  courses  of  study  occupying  two  full  sessions,  or  more, 
Reading  had  46,  Bangor  13,  Leeds  University  1 6,  Newcastle  17,  Aberystwyth  14, 
Cambridge  University  5  I  (apart  from  a  number  of  Forestry  students).  If  students 
taking  winter  courses  (one  period  of  six  months,  or  more  than  one)  be  included, 
the  gross  figures  are  Reading  58,  Bangor  13,  Leeds  University  49,  Newcastle  24, 
Aberystwyth  45,  Cambridge  University  51  (apart  from  a  number  of  students  in 
Forestry).  Each  institution  also  records  a  number  of  "special  students,"  the 
duration  and  character  of  whose  studies  is  not  stated. 


OPPORTUNITY    OF   THE    COLLEGE.      91 

the  general  position  and  outlook  are  highly  encouraging. 
It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  the  growth  of  the 
Department  has  been  characterised,  and  indeed  only  made 
possible,  by  concentration  of  effort  upon  internal  problems 
rather  than  upon  external.  The  amount  of  external  work 
carried  on  in  the  region  around,  both  independently  and 
in  co-operation  with  neighbouring  County  Councils,  is 
considerable,  as  already  shewn,  and  is  increasing.  But  it 
has  not  hitherto  received  as  much  attention  as  the  internal 
work  in  connexion  with  the  regular  students  of  the 
College.*  In  our  opinion  this  concentration  upon  the 
internal  problems  has  been  entirely  justified,  for  until  the 
internal  work  is  sound  and  sufficiently  strong  it  is  folly  to 
undertake  more  than  moderate  responsibilities  outside. 
But  we  are  equally  convinced  that  the  time  has  now  come 
when  the  question  of  developing  the  external  work  of  the 
Department  among  agriculturists  of  the  surrounding 
counties  should  be  taken  up  with  energy.  Like  Guelph, 
the  College  at  Reading  should  aim  at  becoming  "  the 
aggressive  distributor  of  the  best  ideas  and  methods  "  of 
agriculture.  We  desire  to  approach  and  to  treat  this 
question  as  one  of  public  policy,  for  we  believe  that  the 
interests  of  agriculturists  throughout  a  wide  region  will 
be  promoted  by  the  development  of  a  vigorous  extension 
side  to  the  Agricultural  Department  at  Reading. 

If  an  institution  is  to  serve  a  large  district  (and 
experience  and  economy  dictate  that  the  district  shall  be 
large),  it  should  occupy  a  central  and  accessible  position. 
University  College  is  well  qualified  in  this  respect. 
Reading  stands  on  the  border-line  between  Oxfordshire 
and  Berkshire,  within  seven  miles  of  Hampshire  and 
eight  miles  of  Buckinghamshire.  The  railway  routes 
which  converge  upon  Reading  give  ready  access  to  it 
from  all  this  area  except  part  of  Buckinghamshire.  To 
this  circumstance  modern  Reading  owes  much  of  its 
prosperity,  and  the  College  much  of  its  growth. 
Primarily  because  the  College  is  so  conveniently  situated, 

*  It  should  be  observed  that  a  considerable  proportion  of  these  students  come  from 
the  area  of  the  contributing  counties. 


92  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

the  County  Councils  of  the  four  counties  named  have 
been  able  to  make  use  of  and  to  support  its  educational 
work.  Their  Education  Committees  send  to  it  a  steady 
stream  of  county  scholars,  their  secondary  schools  are  in 
touch  with  it,  and  in  other  ways  the  College  plays  a  part 
of  growing  importance  in  the  higher  education  of  the 
region.  But  undoubtedly  its  greatest  opportunity  of 
service  is  in  regard  to  agriculture.  The  new  Universities 
and  Colleges  of  northern  England  stand  in  relation  to 
great  urban  and  manufacturing  centres,  and  their 
educational  policy  is  accordingly  marked  by  the  pro- 
minence given  to  engineering  and  technology.  But 
the  College  at  Reading,  apart  from  its  responsibilities 
towards  Reading  itself,  stands  in  the  midst  of  a  rural  area 
of  great  extent,  the  interests  and  pursuits  of  which  are 
predominantly  agricultural.  In  Berkshire,  Buckingham- 
shire, Hampshire  and  Oxfordshire  there  are  8,737 
farmers.  If  we  include  Dorset,  a  county  not  now 
connected  with  any  higher  institution  providing  agri- 
cultural education  (but  which  formerly  co-operated  with 
the  College  at  Reading),  and  Wiltshire  (which  is  not  in 
connexion  with  any  higher  institution  providing 
agricultural  education*),  the  total  is  raised  to  14,925. -)" 
These  statistics  explain  why  the  Board  of  Agriculture 
selected  Reading  for  its  collegiate  centre  in  south-central 
England,  and  in  our  opinion  they  point  with  irresistible 
force  and  clearness  to  the  line  upon  which  our  educational 
policy,  apart  from  purely  University  studies  in  Letters 
and  Science,  should  specialise  and  develop.  The  true  aim 
and  ambition  should  be  to  build  up  a  Department  which 
should  in  effect  become  an  Agricultural  University, 
providing  first  and  foremost  for  the  needs  of  the  great 
agricultural  community  around  it.  If,  however,  this  aim 
is  to  be  pursued  with  any  prospect  of  success,  it  appears 
to  us  that  foremost  among  necessary  conditions  are  the 

*  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  for  1908-9  [Cd.  5388]  pp.  73,  1 1  i. 

f  Census  of  1901.        Farmers  here  includes  male  and  female,  and  the  following, 

descriptions    of    agriculturist  :      Yeoman,    tacksman,    cheesemaker,    (on    Farm), 

crofter,  dairy  farmer,  fruit  grower  or  farmer,  poultry  farmer,  hop-,potato-,seed-, 

grower,  horse-,or  cattle-,sheep-,farmer.      No  employees  are  included. 


EXTERNAL  POLICY.     LOCAL  CONDITIONS.  93 

three  following:  (i)  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
agricultural  circumstances  of  the  district  (2)  a  more 
effective  co-operation  between  County  Councils  and  the 
College  in  respect  of  agricultural  education  and  (3)  the 
institution  at  the  College  of  an  Extension  Section  to  deal 
specifically  with  the  external  work  of  the  Agricultural 
Department. 

(i)    Knowledge  of  Local  (Conditions. 

The  point  scarcely  needs  enforcing.  "  Teachers  in 
England  and  Wales  are  not  sufficiently  provided  with 
material  based  on  the  close  study  of  local  conditions."* 
It  is  plain  that  if  the  external  work  of  the  Agricultural 
Department  is  to  be  effective,  it  must  bear  directly  upon 
the  problems  and  needs  of  local  agriculture.  Demon- 
strations and  extension  lectures  which  are  not  inspired 
by  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  local  farmer's  needs  are  for 
the  most  part  waste  of  time  and  money.  If  the  services 
rendered  are  to  have  direct  value  to  the  farmer  it  is  evident 
that  two  things  are  requisite.  In  the  first  place,  the 
Agricultural  Department  should  be  enabled,  in  the  manner 
already  indicated  (p.  87),  to  make  a  systematic  study  of  the 
agriculture  of  the  region.  The  localities,  circumstances, 
and  needs  of  the  chief  classes  of  agriculturists — dairy 
farmers,  stock  raisers,  fruit  growers,  and  the  like — should 
be  carefully  studied ;  and  the  programme  of  external 
work  should  be  based  upon  the  knowledge  thus  gained. 
Secondly,  means  should  be  taken  by  personal  inquiries, 
conferences,  addresses  to  Farmers'  Clubs,  and  in  such  other 
ways  as  may  commend  themselves,  to  elicit  the  views  of 
farmers  themselves  with  respect  to  the  most  useful  kind 
of  educational  service  which  the  College  could  render. 
Whether  it  would  be  feasible  to  organise  in  the 
neighbouring  counties  Farmers'  Institutes  on  the  lines  of 
those  in  Ontario  described  on  p.  3  i  is  a  question  which 
can  hardly  be  discussed  here  ;  but  the  Ontario  example  is 
at  least  suggestive  and  stimulating.  It  is  certain  that  in 
every  county  there  are  already  several  agricultural  and 

*  Report  of  Departmental  Committee  [Cd.  4206]  p.  8. 


94  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

horticultural  organisations  which  might  advantageously  be 
brought  into  relation  with  the  collegiate  centre  for 
agricultural  teaching.  In  short,  whatever  the  means 
employed  and  whatever  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  the 
prime  object  should  be  to  found  agricultural  service  upon 
local  agricultural  needs,  to  give  service  of  real  value,  and 
to  eradicate  altogether  from  the  scheme  of  external  work 
the  haphazard,  spasmodic,  and  casual  element  which,  we 
believe,  has  too  often  in  the  history  of  English  agricultural 
education  been  a  cause  of  failure. 

(2)    Co-operation  *toith  County  Councils. 

There  are  two  main  questions.  In  the  first  place, 
there  is  the  question  of  direct  grants  in  aid  of  the 
Agricultural  Department  at  Reading.  The  smallness  of 
the  grants  at  present  received  is  in  serious  contrast  with  the 
amount  of  grants  received  by  similar  institutions  in  other 
parts  of  the  country,  and  this  contrast  attracted  attention 
when  the  Departmental  Committee  of  the  Board  of 
Agriculture  was  inquiring  into  the  agricultural  work  of 
the  College  at  Reading.  We  are  aware  of  the  strain 
imposed  by  the  cost  of  general  higher  education  upon  the 
resources  of  the  counties,  and  we  recognise  that  more 
support  is  not  likely  to  be  forthcoming  except  in  return 
for  definite  services  to  be  rendered.  If,  however,  the 
College  at  Reading  should  be  in  a  position  to  shew  that 
it  is  ready  and  able  to  serve  in  increased  measure  the 
needs  of  higher  agricultural  education  in  a  particular 
county,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  agricultural 
interest  in  that  county  would  be  able  and  willing  to 
secure  consideration  of  proposals  made  on  its  behalf.  We 
would  also  point  out  that  a  modest  increase  in  the  subsidies 
at  present  given  by  the  several  county  councils  would 
more  than  proportionately  strengthen  the  *  work  of  the 
Department.* 


*  The  following  particulars  relative  to  County  Council  contributions  to  Agricul- 
tural Departments  of  Universities  and  University  Colleges,  and  to  agricultural 
institutions,  are  extracted  from  the  Annual  Report  [Cd.  5388]  of  the  Board 
of  Agriculture,  published  in  1910,  but  referring  to  the  year  1908-9. 


EXTERNAL    POLICY. 
WORK    OF    COUNTY    COUNCILS.         95 

The  second  question  concerns  the  relations  between 
the  agricultural  external  work  of  University  College, 
Reading,  as  it  is  or  may  be  carried  on,  and  the  existing 
or  future  agricultural  teaching  carried  on  under  the  direct 
control  of  County  Councils.  Hampshire,  for  example, 
maintains  a  county  staff  which  discharges  two  sets  of 
duties,  one  in  connexion  with  the  Farm  School  at  Basing, 
the  other  in  connexion  with  migratory  instruction  in 
dairying,  poultry-keeping,  farming,  horticulture,  &c. 
throughout  the  county.  The  contact  of  the  Agricultural 
Department  at  Reading  with  this  work  is  principally  in 
respect  of  the  Farm  School,  which  is  inspected  and 
examined  annually,  and  from  which  selected  students 
proceed  to  the  agricultural  courses  of  instruction  at 


Amount   of 
County 
Council 
Grants    re- 
ceived in  Remarks, 
aid  of 
Agricul- 
tural   Edu- 
cation. 


Institutions. 


Wye,  South  Eastern  Agricultural  College 
Leeds  University  ... 


Midland  Agricultural  and  Dairy  College  ... 

Chelmsford  Technical  Laboratories  ... 
Uckfield  Agricultural  and  Horticultural  College 

Holmes  Chapel    College    of    Agriculture  and 

Horticulture                          ..  ... 

Harper  Adams  Agricultural  College  ... 

Newcastle,  Armstrong  College    ...  ... 

Hampshire  Farm  School,  Basing  ... 

Cambridge  University                  ...  ... 

Aberystwyth  University  College  ... 

Cumberland  and  Westmorland  Farm  School  ... 
Agricultural  Institute,  Ridgmont  ... 

Bangor,  University  College  of  North  Wales  ... 
Harris  Institute,  Preston  ...  ... 

University  College,  Reading       ...  ... 


Ipswich  Dairy  Institute  ... 

National    Fruit    and    Cider    Institute 
Ashton)          ...  ... 

British  Dairy  Institute,  Reading... 


(Long 


L 

6,176 


3,219 
2,398 
2,1  1  8 

,900 
,593 
,439 
,417 
,035 
936 

864 
750 
709 
650 
584 

582 


550 

Nil. 


(£809)  "  For  mainten- 
ance and  tuition  of 
scholars." 


Includes  Scholarships. 


Includes    Scholarships 
£521- 


Includes  Scholarships. 

Includes  both  grants  in 
aid  and  Scholarships. 
Includes       Scholarships 
and  local  classes. 


96  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION. 

Reading.  Oxfordshire  also  maintains  a  system  of  migratory 
instruction,  and  in  this  case  the  members  of  staff  concerned 
appear  as  external  lecturers  of  University  College,  Reading, 
in  accordance  with  the  arrangement  explained  previously 
on  p.  68.  The  College  also  undertakes  by  agreement  to 
render  specified  services  in  connexion  with  lectures  and 
experiments.  A  similar  practice  prevails  in  Buckingham- 
shire. Berkshire  discontinued  some  years  ago  its  system 
of  migratory  teaching.  A  county  instructor  is  at  present 
associated  with  the  staff  of  University  College,  and  works 
in  the  College  laboratories;  but  the  general  policy  of  the 
County  Council  in  regard  to  agricultural  instruction  is  now 
under  consideration.  Both  Wilts  and  Dorset  carry  on 
migratory  work,  but  as  already  stated,  these  counties  are 
not  at  present  associated  with  the  College  at  Reading. 

It  appears  to  us  that  the  principles  which  should  govern 
the  organisation  of  agricultural  education,  as  between  the 
College  and  the  neighbouring  County  Councils,  admit  of 
clear  statement,  and,  except  perhaps  in  some  points  of 
detailed  application,  are  such  as  must  meet  with  general 
acceptance.  The  function  of  a  collegiate  centre,  recognised 
by  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  in  relation  to  a  given  area 
is  to  provide,  according  to  its  means,  the  highest  kind  of 
agricultural  education  and  research.  When  in  1890,  the 
Board  of  Agriculture,  acting  in  virtue  of  the  Board  of 
Agriculture  Act  of  1889,  first  undertook  the  organisation 
of  agricultural  education,  it  deliberately  decided  to  create 
collegiate  centres  which  should  discharge  this  important 
function.  "It  was  decided  that  the  first  thing  to  be  done 
was  to  build  up  a  series  of  central  institutions,  capable  on 
the  one  hand  of  giving  instruction,  and  on  the  other  of 
conducting  agricultural  experiments  and  taking  such  other 
steps  for  enlisting  the  interest  and  support  of  the 
agricultural  community  in  their  work  as  might  seem  to 

be  desirable The  broad  result  has  been 

that  most  parts  of  the  country  have  been  provided  with 
institutions  capable  of  furnishing  higher  instruction  in 
agriculture."  Any  scheme  of  agricultural  education, 

*  Annual  Report,  1910  [Cd.  5388]  pp.  v — vi. 


EXTERNAL   POLICY. 
RELATIONS    WITH    COUNTIES.  97 

organised  within  the  area  of  its  influence  whether  by  a 
local  or  national  authority,  which  failed  to  recognise  the 
existence  of  the  collegiate  centre  and  its  function,  which 
failed  to  relate  all  forms  of  agricultural  education  to  the 
centre  and  to  ensure  co-operation  with  it,  would  inevitably 
lead  to  duplication,  waste  of  effort,  and  from  the  rate- 
payer's point  of  view,  waste  of  money.  On  this  point, 
which  has  recently  gained  a  fresh  and  serious  importance 
owing  to  the  division  of  responsibility  for  agricultural 
education  between  the  Boards  of  Agriculture  and  Edu- 
cation, we  may  quote  from  the  Resolution  adopted  in 
March  1909,  by  the  Rural  Education  Conference  held  in 
London,  and  also  by  the  Central  Chamber  of  Agriculture, 
and  by  the  Farmers'  Club.  "  That  each  group  of  counties 
should  be  connected  with  an  Agricultural  College  or  Institute 
equipped  with  an  efficient  staff  and  apparatus  for  giving 
the  higher  forms  of  agricultural  instruction,  both  practical 
and  scientific.  That  the  Local  Education  Authorities 
should  provide  scholarships  for  continuing  the  education 
of  young  men  from  the  Secondary  School  at  such 
Institutions.  That  a  portion  of  the  staff  of  the  Institution 
should  be  available  for  peripatetic  instruction  in  the 
adjoining  counties.  That  the  Institution  should  be 
supported  by  contributions  from  the  counties  as  well  as 
from  the  Central  Department,  and  that  experimental 
farms  and  stations  should  be  maintained  in  connexion 
with  each  College  or  Institute."* 

Earlier  in  our  Report  we  described  the  College  at 
Guelph  as  "  the  capital  centre  for  teaching,  for  experiment, 
for  expert  knowledge,  and  for  constructive  ideas "  in 
agricultural  education  in  the  province  of  Ontario,  (see 
p.  29.)  Allowing  for  every  difference  of  circumstance, 
it  appears  to  us  that  this  description  indicates  the  ideal 
function  of  the  English  agricultural  College  or  Department 
in  relation  to  its  region. 

Admitting,  however,  the  importance  of  recognising, 
aiding,  and  using  the  agricultural  college  as  the  "head  and 
centre"  of  agricultural  education  within  its  area,  it  is 

*  Board  of  Agriculture  Annual  Report,  1909.     [Cd.  4802]  p.  150. 


98  AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

probable  that  some  County  Councils  will  always  wish  to 
carry  on  certain  kinds  of  less  advanced  agricultural 
instruction  under  their  direct  and  undivided  control.  Work 
of  this  kind  is  at  present  undertaken  in  many  counties, 
including,  as  already  noticed,  Hampshire,  Oxfordshire, 
and  Buckinghamshire.  The  co-ordination  of  such  work 
with  the  work  carried  on  by  the  collegiate  centre  at 
Reading  should  not  present  difficulty,  but  if  either  is  to 
be  effective  the  co-ordination  must  be  real  and  living. 
Both  the  collegiate  centre  and  the  county  instructors 
should  be  active  ;  but  their  activity  should  not  be  carried 
on  in  ignorance  of,  or  in  rivalry  with,  one  another.  This 
is  not  the  place  to  prescribe  in  detail  the  exact  character 
of  such  schemes  of  co-ordination.  What  is  needed  in 
each  case  is  a  treaty  the  terms  and  aim  of  which  are 
periodically  reviewed.  Hence  arises  the  suggestion  of  a 
Joint  Committee,  the  desirability  of  which  was  so  strongly 
enforced  by  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Agricultural 
Education.  Their  Report  [Cd.  4206  p.  37]  urged  "that, 
so  far  as  control  by  local  authorities  is  concerned,  the 
organisation  and  supervision  of  agricultural  instruction 
should  always  be  entrusted  either  to  a  special  committee, 
or  to  a  sub-committee  reporting  direct  to  the  education 
committee  of  the  county  council,  and  consisting  princi- 
pally of  agriculturists  and  of  representatives  of  the 
college  to  which  the  county  may  be  affiliated."  We  are 
of  opinion  that  if  agricultural  education  is  to  be 
developed  successfully  in  the  region  under  consideration, 
and  if  the  resources  of  the  Department  of  Reading  are 
to  be  utilised  to  the  best  advantage,  this  principal  of  joint- 
consultation  should  be  further  extended.  At  present  the 
Director  of  the  Agricultural  Department  serves  as  a 
member  of  the  Advisory  Committee  of  the  Hampshire 
Education  Committee,  while  the  Principal  of  the  College, 
a  member  of  Council,  and  the  Agricultural  Director 
serve  as  members  of  the  Agricultural  Sub-Committee  of 
the  Berkshire  Education  Committee.  No  similar 
arrangement  prevails  in  regard  to  Oxfordshire  and  Buck- 
inghamshire. The  Council  of  University  College, 


EXTERNAL    POLICY. 
RELATIONS   WITH    COUNTIES.  99 

Reading,  includes  representatives  of  all  four  counties,  but 
this  arrangement,  though  of  the  highest  general  value, 
does  not  secure  special  consultation  with  regard  to 
agricultural  education  in  a  particular  county.  The 
practice,  again,  by  which  county  instructors  in  agriculture 
in  Oxfordshire  and  Buckinghamshire  are  appointed  by 
the  County  Councils  in  consultation  with  the  College 
and  take  rank  as  members  of  the  College  staff  is 
excellent  as  far  as  it  goes,*  but  the  contact  with  the 
agricultural  Department  at  Reading  can  only  be  made 
effective  by  frequent  interchange  of  visits  and  by 
periodical  conferences.  In  the  case  of  Berkshire,  where 
a  similar  arrangement  prevails,  the  county  instructor  is 
able  to  use  the  College  laboratories,  and  contact  is  easier 
owing  to  both  the  College  and  the  County  Council  head- 
quarters being  situated  in  the  same  town.  The  intimate 
association  between  the  county  instructors  in  Ontario  and 
the  College  at  Guelph  is  a  valuable  precedent  of  a  sound 
method  of  organisation,  (see  p.  38). 

In  conclusion  upon  this  point,  we  desire  to  urge 
most  strongly  the  importance  both  to  County  Councils  and 
to  the  College  at  Reading  of  taking  all  possible  measures 
to  secure  a  thorough  co-operation  and  understanding  in 
the  work  of  agricultural  education.  That  work  is  by 
common  consent  beset  with  peculiar  difficulties  ;  and  it 
cannot  be  undertaken  with  any  real  prospect  of  success 
unless  all  available  resources  are  brought  to  bear,  and  are 
directed  in  obedience  to  a  well-understood  scheme  of 
organisation.  This  argument  leads  irresistibly  to  the 
idea  of  associating  several  counties  in  support  of  a 
common  scheme,  and  upon  this  point  some  general 
proposals  will  be  found  in  the  next  section.  "  It  is 
assumed  that  these  higher  institutions  (i.e.  collegiate 
centres  of  agricultural  teaching)  will  serve  a  group  of 
counties." 

(3)    Institution  of  an  Extension  Section. 

The  branches  of  extension  work  already  in  existence 

*  It   is   specially  commended   in    the    Report   of   the   Departmental   Committee 

[Cd.  4206]  p.  24. 


ioo         AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

at  University  College,  Reading,  include  (a)  the  analysis  of 
soils,  manures,  feeding-stuffs,  water,  etc.  (6)  seed  testing 
(r)  the  identification  of  insect  and  fungoid  pests,  and 
advice  by  letter  as  to  treatment  (d]  advice  on  questions 
relating  to  dairy  produce,  and  agriculture  generally 
(e)  occasional  lectures  to  farmers'  clubs,  and  similar 
organisations,  on  agricultural  topics  (f)  judging  and 
demonstrations  at  agricultural  shows  (g)  organisation  of 
vacation  courses  for  rural  teachers  and  others.  All 
this  work  has  to  be  carried  on  by  members  of  staff 
already  immersed  in  teaching  duties,  and  consequently 
it  has  never  been  possible  to  develop  it  with  freedom. 
But  the  College  realises  that  nothing  would  invigorate  its 
work  more  quickly  or  more  thoroughly  than  an 
augmentation  of  the  staff  resources  for  extension  work. 
From  what  has  already  been  said,  it  will  be  evident  that 
all  extension  work  should  be  carried  on  in  consultation 
with  farmers'  organisations,  and  in  co-operation  with  the 
county  education  authorities.  The  principle  which  is 
practised  in  reference  to  the  Farmers'  Institutes  in  Ontario 
might  be  followed  with  advantage.  The  College  should 
put  forward  its  list  of  lecturers  and  their  subjects, 
and  the  selection  of  centres  should  be  guided  by  the 
recommendations  of  local  farmers  and  of  the  county 
education  authorities. 

The  external  work  of  the  agricultural  Department 
is  a  factor  of  such  vital  importance  in  gaining  the 
confidence  of  farmers  that,  in  our  opinion,  a  special 
section  of  the  Department  should  at  the  earliest  possible 
date  be  established  to  deal  with  it.  Two  conditions  in 
organisation  are  imperative  if  the  work  is  to  be  developed 
and  conducted  successfully.  First,  the  staffing  resources 
of  the  Department  must  admit  of  the  extension  work 
receiving  adequate  attention.  The  lecturers  and  others 
employed  must  not  only  be  competent  for  their  work, 
but  they  must  be  able  to  give  to  it  the  time  it  demands 
without  detriment  to  the  internal  efficiency  of  the 
Department.  It  is  folly  to  distract  a  lecturer  with  outside 
duties  if  he  is  already  fully  burdened  with  internal  teaching 


EXTERNAL  POLICY.  EXTENSION  SECTION.  101 

duties  ;  and  it  is  also  folly  to  send  out  men  to  address 
farmers  who  are  not  able,  owing  to  other  claims  or  to 
insufficient  special  training,  to  give  them  the  best 
information.  These  observations  suggest  the  appointment 
of  additional  members  to  the  staff  for  the  main  purpose 
of  representing  the  College  in  external  work.  Each  of 
these  new  members  should  be  a  master  of  some 
one  section  of  agriculture,  or  of  agricultural  science. 
As  instances  of  sections,  for  which  experts  should  be 
appointed,  we  may  mention  grass-land,  cereals,  green 
crops,  soils  and  manures,  feeding  stuffs  and  dairy  produce, 
fruit,  insect  diseases,  and  fungoid  diseases.  It  is  only 
when  given  a  restricted  field  of  this  kind  that  a  man  can 
make  himself  really  an  authority  on  his  work,  and  that 
he  can  acquire  that  well-founded  confidence  so  essential 
to  one  who  will  be  called  upon  to  advise  practical  men. 
Moreover,  it  is  upon  the  provision  of  such  an  extension 
staff  that  we  must  rely  if  we  desire  to  enroll  farmers  in 
large  numbers  in  support  of  science  and  to  make  the 
College  a  powerful  intellectual  centre  of  country  life. 
Any  such  scheme  would  be  expensive,  and  quite  beyond 
the  resources  of  the  College,  or  of  any  one  county.  If, 
however,  a  group  of  six  counties  were  to  combine  to 
support  the  extension  scheme,  they  would  gain  the  great 
advantage  of  the  services  of  an  efficient  staff  of  specialists.* 

It    is   probable    that    after   the   extension    work    has 
developed,   a   special   officer    should    be    appointed    who 

*Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  1910,  [Cd.  5388]  p.  vi.  It  may 
be  of  interest  to  outline  here  the  proposals  which  University  College,  Reading,  has 
submitted  to  the  Board  of  Agriculture  in  connexion  with  the  Development  Fund 
Schemes  for  agricultural  education  and  research,  (i)  Grants  are  asked  for  to 
make  possible  the  following  researches  and  undertakings  (a)  an  inquiry  into  the 
micro-flora  of  the  chief  English  cheeses  at  different  stages  of  ripening,  beginning 
with  Stilton  cheese  (b)  the  raising  of  improved  types  of  cereals  by  the  methods  of 
"selection"  (c)  an  inquiry  into  the  "hardiness"  of  apple  trees  (d)  research 
in  dairy  chemistry  (e)  an  inquiry  into  the  relation  of  air  and  soil  temperature  to 
the  yield  of  certain  crops,  more  particularly  wheat,  (z)  grants  are  also  asked  for 
to  make  possible  the  provision  of  the  nucleus  of  an  extension  staff  of  highly  trained 
specialists,  each  of  whom  would  deal  with  a  single  section  of  agriculture  or 
agricultural  science,  and  all  of  whom  would  devote  their  main  energy  to  work  in 
the  counties  associated  with  University  College.  In  the  first  instance,  the  sections 
represented  would  probably  be  Soils  and  Manures,  Feeding  Stuffs  and  Dairy 
Produce,  Grass  Land,  Cereals,  and  Dairy  Farming. 


102         AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

should  be  responsible  under  the  Director  for  all  arrange- 
ments in  connexion  with  outside  work.  The  work 
involves  much  correspondence  and  negotiation,  and  we 
think  that  if  it  is  to  be  efficiently  performed,  a  member  of 
staff,  himself  a  trained  agriculturist,  should  be  appointed 
to  give  it  continuous  supervision.  The  library  system 
also  would  require  to  be  strengthened  and  developed. 

In  the  event  of  the  College  undertaking  extension 
work,  other  than  purely  agricultural,  this  Extension 
Section  might  without  difficulty  be  enlarged  so  as  to 
include  a  wider  scope  of  activity. 


SUMMARY    OF    SUGGESTIONS    AND   CONCLUDING   REMARKS. 

Holding  most  strongly  that  the  time  has  arrived  for 
the  adoption  of  an  energetic  policy  of  development  in 
agricultural  education  and  research  at  University  College, 
Reading,  we  have  outlined  in  the  foregoing  Report  the 
main  features  of  such  a  policy.  Our  suggestions  have 
been  founded  upon  our  experience  and  knowledge  of  the 
actual  conditions  which  prevail  in  England  and  at 
Reading,  but  we  have  also  been  influenced  at  many  points 
by  our  study  of  agricultural  education  in  Canada  and  in 
the  United  States.  The  views  and  suggestions  put 
forward  may  be  thus  summarised,  (i)  The  problem  of 
agricultural  development  at  Reading  is  two-fold,  internal 
and  external.  Hitherto  the  internal  problem  has  rightly 
received  most  attention  ;  but  the  time  has  now  come 
when  the  external  problem  demands  comprehensive 


SUMMARY    OF    SUGGESTIONS.          103 

treatment.  (2)  The  staff  of  the  department  should  be 
strengthened  ;  appointments  should  be  governed  by  two 
main  considerations,  high  personal  calibre  and  speciali- 
sation of  teaching  or  research  function.  Personnel 
determines  efficiency.  (3)  University  College,  Reading, 
should  control  its  main  courses  of  agricultural  and 
horticultural  instruction,  both  syllabuses  and  examinations. 
(4)  The  existing  scheme  of  courses  of  study  is  satis- 
factory, but  more  attention  should  be  given  to  the  case 
of  long-course  students  and  post-graduate  students,  and  to 
vacation  courses  for  teachers  and  others.  (5)  Pure 
science  should  be  taught  principally  in  the  later  stage  of 
the  agricultural  course,  the  earlier  stages  being  given  a 
stronger  bias  towards  "  practical  "  work  than  is  the  case 
at  present.  (6)  The  standards  of  admission  for  students 
should  gradually  be  raised,  and  students  should  be  required 
either  to  show  previous  experience  of  farm-work  or  to  gain 
such  experience  during  their  course.  (7)  The  College 
Farm  should  answer  three  main  purposes  ;  it  should  be 
educational,  it  should  develop  its  experimental  side,  and  it 
should  specialise  in  dairying.  The  Fruit  Station  should 
be  maintained.  (8)  Experiments  and  research  should  be 
systematically  planned,  partly  in  reference  to  local  needs 
and  partly  in  reference  to  the  special  aptitudes  of  members 
of  the  staff.  (9)  Growth  will  necessitate  additional 
buildings,  among  which  it  would  be  desirable  to  include 
an  agricultural  Museum  and  a  Machinery  Hall.  (10)  As 
regards  external  work,  the  situation  of  the  College  at  the 
heart  of  a  great  agricultural  region  gives  it  a  notable 
opportunity.  Local  conditions  should  be  carefully 
studied  ;  and  every  attempt  should  be  made  to  secure  the 
sympathetic  interest  of  farmers.  Increased  support 
should  be  sought  from  County  Councils,  and  the  position 
of  the  College  as  the  recognised  collegiate  centre  for 
higher  agricultural  education  in  south-central  England 
should  be  made  more  real  and  effective  by  means  of  care- 
fully organised  schemes  of  joint-action  with  the  several 
County  Councils.  Lastly,  in  order  to  enable  the  external 
work  to  be  properly  undertaken  and  performed,  and  to 


io4         AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

mark  the  opening  of  a  new  chapter  of  external  activity, 
an  Extension  Section  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
at  Reading  should  be  organised  with  as  little  delay  as 
possible. 

The  recommendations,  thus  enumerated,  constitute 
no  more  than  the  outline  of  a  policy.  If  the  policy 
commends  itself  to  the  Council  of  University  College, 
Reading,  it  will  be  the  task  of  others  to  fill  in  the  outline, 
and  to  convert  general  recommendations  into  definite  and 
practical  proposals.  Our  own  duty  is  discharged  (in 
respect  of  the  agricultural  reference)  now  that  we  have 
given  an  account  of  our  visits  to  Canadian  and  American 
institutions,  and  have  reviewed  the  problem  at  Reading 
in  the  light  of  past  experience  and  new  knowledge. 
We  have  indicated  where  in  our  opinion  the  Agricultural 
Department  of  the  College  should  be  further  strengthened, 
and  we  have  pointed  out  the  great  opportunity  which 
lies  before  it. 


We  are,  however,  unwilling  to  conclude  the 
agricultural  and  main  section  of  our  Report  without 
reference  to  the  underlying  question  of  finance.  It  is 
futile  to  talk  of  opportunity  and  development  unless  a 
successful  effort  is  made  simultaneously  to  provide  the 
indispensable  ways  and  means.  The  Council  of 
University  College,  Reading,  cannot  possibly  do  more  on 
their  existing  resources  than  they  are  doing  at  the  present 
moment.  Already  they  carry  on  their  work  at  a  heavy 
annual  loss,  and  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  support 
accorded  to  the  College  by  the  State  and  by  public  bodies 
has  been  nobly  supplemented  by  private  munificence, 
the  University  College  and  its  Agricultural  Department, 
if  they  existed  at  all,  would  be  negligible  factors.  Unless 
the  splendid  growth  of  eighteen  years  is  to  be  jeopardized, 


CONCLUDING    REMARKS.  105 

the  resources  of  the  College  must  be  extended.  There 
can  be  no  development  on  a  stationary  income.  The 
greatest  opportunity  which  has  ever  presented  itself  for 
advancing  agricultural  education  in  south-central  England 
will  be  lost  unless  at  the  critical  moment  help  is  forth- 
coming to  enable  it  to  be  grasped.  There  are  three 
principal  sources  from  which  that  help  may  be  derived  : 
private  donors,  County  Councils,  and  the  State.  The 
donors  who  have  done  so  much  to  bring  University 
College,  Reading,  to  its  present  strength  and  reputation 
may  surely  hope  that  a  wider  group  of  leading  residents 
in  the  surrounding  counties  will  now  come  forward  to 
aid  in  securing  for  the  institution  not  only  stability,  but 
a  career  of  extended  usefulness.  The  resident  in  Buck- 
inghamshire or  Hampshire  will  not  be  asked  to  contribute 
money  to  a  College  with  which  his  county  has  no 
concern.  His  contribution  will  bring — he  can  stipulate 
that  it  shall  bring — direct  benefit  to  the  agriculture  and 
agricultural  education  of  his  county.  If  by  one  act  both 
College  and  county  can  be  benefited,  the  appeal  to  local 
public  spirit  should  not  be  made  in  vain.  As  regards 
help  from  County  Councils,  our  views  have  already  been 
expressed.  We  advise  that  the  College  should  vigorously 
press  its  claims  for  consideration  upon  all  Local  Education 
Authorities  ;  that  it  should  seek  conference  with  them  ; 
and  that  every  effort  should  be  made  to  keep  the  members 
of  the  County  Councils  and  the  public  acquainted  with  its 
work  and  aims.  Lastly,  there  is  the  question  of  State  aid. 
The  present  inadequacy  of  State  aid  to  all  forms  of  Uni- 
versity education  is  an  admitted  and  lamentable  fact.  In 
no  direction  is  that  inadequacy  more  grave  than  in  reference 
to  higher  education  in  agriculture.  The  Report  of  the 
Departmental  Committee  on  Agriculture  [Cd.  4206] 
claims  for  the  State  "  the  credit  of  having,  by  its  policy, 
created  a  desire  for  (agricultural)  knowledge."  (p.  8). 
But  if  the  State  led  the  way,  it  has  subsequently  lagged 
behind.  For  the  Report  also  declares  that  "  evidence 
from  all  (institutions)  tends  to  show  that  their  funds  are 
quite  inadequate  for  the  work  which  lies  ready  at  hand." 


106         AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION. 

(p.  i  2).  On  a  later  page  in  the  same  Report  the  funds  avail- 
able for  agricultural  instruction  are  declared  to  be  "wholly 
inadequate  for  maintaining  that  work  efficiently."  The 
Committee  add  that  "  they  are  of  opinion  that, 
irrespective  of  further  developments,  further  means 
should  be  provided  for  this  purpose."  (p.  33).  They 
conclude  with  the  following  declaration  :  "  It  is  therefore 
obvious  that  the  principal,  if  not  the  only,  source  from 
which  the  balance  of  the  funds  required  can  be  obtained 
is  the  national  exchequer."  (p.  34).  The  Board  of 
Agriculture,  it  is  understood,  have  now  larger  funds  at 
their  disposal,  and  there  may  be  some  hope  that  grants 
which,  like  that  made  by  the  Board  to  the  College  at 
Reading,  have  remained  stationary  for  a  long  period, 
may  before  long  be  raised.  It  remains  to  be  seen 
how  far  the  funds  of  the  Development  Commissioners 
will  be  available  for  the  furtherance  of  educational  and 
research  work  such  as  that  carried  on  by  the  Agricultural 
Department  at  Reading.  It  is,  indeed,  high  time  that 
something  was  done  in  earnest  to  strengthen  such 
institutions  and  those  who  work  in  them  and  for  them. 
A  member  of  the  Moseley  Commission  of  1903  after 
inspecting  the  agricultural  work  of  the  Guelph  College 
in  Ontario  and  hearing  of  the  annual  grants  given 
in  aid  of  that  College  by  the  Government  of  the 
Province  (see  p.  21),  was  moved  to  describe  the  maximum 
grants  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  in  aid  of  the 
corresponding  institutions  at  home  as  "  grotesque."' 
The  word  is  not  too  strong.  Canada  and  the  United 
States  are  setting  standards  in  agricultural  education  which 
we  cannot  ignore  or  belittle.  We  believe  that  there  is 
only  one  respect  in  which  the  competition  between 
ourselves  and  them  is  unequal.  In  personnel,  in  energy, 
in  ability  the  old  country  holds  her  own.  But  she  is 
behindhand  in  the  generosity  inspired  by  faith.  The 
sums  doled  out  to  Universities  and  University  Colleges 
and  Agricultural  Departments  are  not  only  much  smaller 
than  those  given  for  similar  purposes  in  other  countries, 

*  Moseley  Education  Commission  Report  p.  298. 


CONCLUDING    REMARKS.  107 

but  good  work  is  left  undone,  opportunities  are  lost, 
efficiency  is  retarded  and  impaired  through  sheer  want  of 
the  necessary  ways  and  means.  University  College, 
Reading,  is  only  one  of  many  institutions  of  its  order 
which  find  their  future,  almost  their  existence,  menaced  by 
the  inadequacy  of  revenue.  It  would  almost  seem  that 
the  time  has  come  when  a  national  association  of  the 
"  Friends  of  University  Education  "  should  be  formed 
with  the  object  of  taking  measures  to  convince  Ministers, 
Members  of  Parliament,  the  Press,  and  the  Public, 
before  it  is  too  late,  of  the  imperative  necessity  of  making 
more  liberal  State  grants  to  Universities  and  Colleges  if 
we  are  to  give  students  of  intelligence  the  education  and 
training  they  need,  if  we  are  to  retain  in  the  service  of 
knowledge  men  of  experience  and  power,  and  if  Britain 
is  to  hold  her  place  among  the  nations.* 

*  It  may  be  useful  to  observe  here  that  at  Reading  local  munificence  has  been 
conspicuous,  has  been  encouraged  by  State  recognition  of  the  progress  accomplished, 
and,  together  with  that  progress,  has  been  such  as  amply  to  justify  a  confident 
hope  that  further  liberality  from  the  State  will  be  forthcoming.  The  public 
recognition  of  worth  and  effectiveness  implied  in  the  award  of  Treasury  and 
other  government  grants  has  been  an  indispensable  antecedent  condition  of  each 
of  the  considerable  private  benefactions  which  have  been  received  by  University 
College,  Reading,  in  the  last  few  years.  Only  the  chief  instances  need  be 
mentioned.  These  instances  are — the  gift  of  a  new  College  site  ;  four  donations 
of  £10,000,  £10,000,  £6,000,  and  £3,000  to  the  Building  Fund  ;  the  gift  of 
an  endowment  (£50,000)  on  condition  that  the  College  maintained  its  status  as 
a  University  College  ;  the  gift  of  Wantage  Hall,  and  its  endowment  ;  recent 
anonymous  donations  to  discharge  College  indebtedness  amounting  to  nearly 
£30,000  ;  and  the  purchase  (through  enabling  donations  amounting  to  £4,000) 
of  five  acres  of  land.  These  gifts,  as  well  as  an  incalculable  amount  of  personal 
effort,  have  been  given  in  the  reasonable  belief  that  as  the  effectiveness  of  the 
College  grows,  so  the  volume  of  State  assistance  will  grow  also. 


io8  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

PART   II.     OTHER  ASPECTS  OF  UNIVERSITY 

DEVELOPMENT. 

A. 

NOTE  ON  LIBRARIES. 

In  their  Annual  Report  for  the  year  1908-9  to  the 
Court  of  Governors,  the  Council  of  University  College, 
Reading,  thus  referred  to  their  College  Library:  "It  has 
been  evident  for  some  time  past  that  the  Library  cannot 
indefinitely  be  housed  in  its  adapted  and  inadequate 
quarters  in  the  Acacias  Building.  The  Library  is  greatly 
used  by  students  of  all  Faculties  and  Departments,  and  it 
is  often  overcrowded.  It  cannot  conveniently,  nor  perhaps 
safely,  be  made  to  accommodate  very  many  more  books. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  there  is  no  part  of  educational 
provision  more  absolutely  vital  for  serious  students  than  a 
comprehensive,  well-ordered,  and  spacious  library,  the 
Council  are  encouraged  to  hope  that  before  long  the  roll  of 
munificent  gifts  to  the  College  may  be  lengthened  (as 
recently  at  Sheffield  University)  by  the  gift  and  foundation 
of  a  permanent  and  worthy  library  building.  Whoever 
made  so  noble  a  gift  would  have  the  certainty  and 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  was  ministering  in 
perpetuity,  and  in  the  most  direct  and  helpful  way,  to  the 
needs  of  a  steadily  growing  body  of  earnest  students  upon 
whom  the  disabilities  mentioned  are  beginning  to  press, 
and  will  press  with  increasing  weight." 

The  nucleus  of  a  Library  was  formed  soon  after  the 
foundation  of  the  College  in  1892.  Growth  was  at  first 
very  slow.  In  1 900  the  number  of  volumes  was  only  i  ,7 1  5. 
It  is  now  upwards  of  7,000.  The  collection  is  good,  as  far 
as  it  goes,  for  the  books  have  been  carefully  chosen;  but  the 
branches  of  study  and  research  pursued  in  a  University 
College  are  so  numerous  that  a  Library  of  these  dimensions 
must  inevitably  be  characterised  by  most  serious  deficiencies. 
No  large  bequest  or  donation  has  ever  been  received 
wherewith  to  provide  a  generous  supply  of  standard  works 
in  all  departments  of  study.  The  funds  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Council  for  Library  purposes  vary  from  >Ti  50  to  £200 


LIBRARIES.  109 

a  year,*  apart  from  expenditure  on  Library  administration, 
and  are  quite  inadequate  to  meet  the  pressing  needs  of  the 
College.  The  Library  staffconsists  of  a  Librarian  (honorary) , 
and  a  Superintendent  and  Assistant  (both  paid).  The 
Library  occupies  the  upper  floor  of  the  Acacias  Building 
(formerly  a  private  residence),  and  one  or  two  adjacent 
rooms.  The  disposition  of  the  rooms  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  books  in  them  are  attractive  and  interesting, 
but  the  accommodation,  alike  for  books  and  for  readers, 
is  at  the  present  time  severely  strained.  Not  more  than 
50  persons  can  use  the  Library  at  one  time  without  much 
inconvenience  resulting,  and  no  more  space  is  available. 

It  will  be  evident  from  these  particulars  that  the 
Library  question  at  Reading  is  both  serious  and  urgent. 
It  discloses  the  weakest  part  in  the  development  of  the 
College  as  a  University  institution.  It  might  not  be 
reasonable  to  urge  that  a  College  founded  as  recently  as 
1892  should  possess  already  a  collection  of  books  equal  to 
those  found  at  Liverpool,  Manchester,  or  Birmingham, 
where  the  totals  of  volumes  vary  from  about  50,000  to 
over  120,000.  But  it  is  pertinent  to  notice  that  the 
Library  at  Reading  is  at  present  the  smallest  Library  to 
be  found  at  any  of  the  new  Universities  and  University 
Colleges,  and  that  its  financial  resources  are  the  least.  No 
University  institution  can  rest  content  with  a  poor  library, 
for  such  a  weakness  means  depriving  advanced  students  of 
necessary  books,  particularly  the  literary  student  to  whom 
a  library  is  in  truth  a  laboratory,  and  it  means  denying  to 
professors  and  lecturers  engaged  in  research  the  inestimable 
boon  of  having  a  good  library  of  reference  on  the  spot. 
In  a  recent  report,  President  Lowell,  of  Harvard  University, 
described  the  Harvard  Library  as  "  the  principal  workshop 
of  the  University." 

During  our  tour  in  Canada  and  the  United  States, 
therefore,  we  gave  such  attention  as  was  possible  to  the 
Libraries  of  the  institutions  visited.  The  following  brief 
notes  relate  to  the  Libraries  at  the  McGill  University, 

*  Of  this  sum,  about  £jo  has  to  be  expended  on  periodical  publications,  binding, 
and  minor  equipment. 


i  io  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

Macdonald    College,    Toronto    University,    and    Cornell 
University. 

Me  Gil  I  University  Library,  Montreal. 

In  1891  Mr.  Peter  Redpath  (1821-1894),  Senior 
Governor  of  McGill  University  and  already  one  of  its 
chief  benefactors,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Chancellor  of 
the  University  in  which  he  announced  his  intention  "  to 
make  provision  for  all  the  requirements  of  a  University 
Library."  The  new  building  was  opened  on  October  31, 
1894,  by  Their  Excellencies  the  Governor  General  of 
Canada  and  the  Countess  of  Aberdeen. 

Mr.  Redpath,  in  presenting  his  gift  to  the  University, 
observed  that  it  had  been  planned  after  careful  study  of 
many  of  the  best  libraries  then  existing.  The  building  is 
of  Montreal  limestone,  and  all  construction  is  as  nearly 
fire-proof  as  possible.  "The  style  adopted  is  a  free 
treatment  of  Romanesque."  The  internal  accommodation 
includes  (i)  reading  room,  110  feet  long,  43  feet  wide, 
and  44  feet  high.  (2)  librarian's  room  and  cataloguing 
room.*  (3)  periodicals  room.  (4)  professors'  room. 
(5)  muniment  room.  (6)  five  seminar  rooms  for 
special  studies.  (7)  book-stack.  The  architect's  des- 
cription of  the  book-stack  system,  an  almost  universal 
feature  of  modern  libraries  in  Canada  and  in  the  United 
States,  may  be  quoted :  "  The  books  are  placed  by 
themselves  in  a  large,  lofty  chamber,  well  lighted  from 
two  or  more  sides,  and  sometimes  also  from  the  top. 
This  chamber  is  made  absolutely  fireproof,  and  is  cut  off 
by  fireproof  doors  from  the  rest  of  the  building.  It  is 
divided  into  several  storeys  by  open  gratings,  or  by  iron 
and  thick,  rough,  plate-glass  ;  these  storeys  are  generally 
not  more  than  7  feet  to  8  feet  high,  so  that  the  librarians 
can  reach  any  book  on  the  shelves  without  the  aid  of  a 
ladder.  The  book-cases  are  generally  of  iron,  with  shelves 
sometimes  of  iron  and  sometimes  of  wood.  Access  is 
obtained  to  the  different  storeys  by  light  iron  stairs, 
either  straight  or  circular.  .  .  .  This  stack-room  has  four 

*  At  the  time  of  our  visit,  the   University  Librarian,   Mr.   Charles  H.   Gould, 
B.A.,  was  assisted  by  a  staff  of  eight  persons. 


LIBRARIES.  1 1 1 

storeys,  with  straight  stairs,  and  a  lift  for  books  ;  on  each 
storey  there  is  a  wide  bay  window,  for  privileged  readers, 
where  they  can  consult  any  of  the  books  on  the  spot,  and 
not  obstruct  the  passage-ways  between  the  books." 

Since  1893  the  Library  building  at  McGill  University 
has  been  considerably  enlarged.  It  contained  in  1893 
about  35,000  volumes.  One  who  took  part  in  the 
opening  ceremony  observed  that  "  a  great  institution  like 
this  should  have  a  library  of  over  100,000  volumes  at 
least."  In  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Governors,  Principal, 
and  Fellows  of  McGill  University  for  1908-09,  the  total 
number  of  volumes  is  given  as  123,088  ;  and  the  number 
of  additions  for  the  year  as  4,856.  In  the  same  year  the 
expenditure  on  the  Library,  "for  books,  &c."  (i.e. 
exclusive  of  the  cost  of  the  Library  Staff  and  the 
maintenance  of  the  fabric)  was  equivalent  to  £1,270.  It 
should  be  noted  that  the  Library  possesses  endowments.* 

Macdonald  College  Library,  St.  Anne  de  Bel/evue. 

Macdonald  College  is  a  new  institution,  and  its 
Library  is  not  important  as  a  collection  of  books.  It  deserves 
notice,  however,  because  within  modest  limits  its  quarters 
and  their  arrangement  could  hardly  be  improved.  The 
Library,  and  the  Assembly  Hall  above  it,  constitute  a  large 
projecting  wing  of  the  Main  Building.  The  library 
accommodation  consists  of  a  reading  room  and  book-stack 
with  administrative  offices.  The  dimensions  of  the 
reading  room  are  approximately  75  feet  by  60  feet  ; 
height  about  16  feet.  The  visitor,  entering  the  reading 
room  by  the  main  door  in  the  middle  of  the  southern 
end,  sees  at  the  opposite  end  a  counter,  to  which  books  are 
brought  from  the  book-stack  beyond  for  distribution  to 
the  readers.  The  reading  room  itself  is  divided  by  two 
rows  of  columns,  which  support  the  flat  recessed  ceiling, 
into  three  parts.  Down  the  middle  is  a  broad  space  in 
which  are  arranged  two  rows  of  four  tables  each  for 
students.  On  either  side  beyond  the  columns  is  a  series 

*  Numerous  particulars  in  this  section  are  taken  from  the  Report  of  the 
Governors,  &c.  just  mentioned,  and  from  the  published  account  of  proceedings  at 
the  opening  of  the  McGill  University  Library  in  1893. 


1 12  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

of  five  alcoves  or  compartments,  each  lighted  by  a  large 
window  and  separated  from  its  neighbours  by  bookcases  six 
feet  high,  and  provided  with  a  table  for  study.  All 
wooden  fittings,  furniture,  and  panelling,  are  of  oak,  or  oak- 
veneer.  The  bookcases  forming  the  walls  of  alcoves,  with 
their  returns  on  each  side,  enable  a  large  number  of  books 
to  be  kept  in  the  reading  room  itself.  The  book-stack 
presents  no  features  of  special  interest.  The  arrangements 
for  filing  pamphlets  are  excellent. 

Thus  the  Library  at  Macdonald  College  affords  some 
useful  suggestions  in  general  design,  but  in  the  event  of  a 
new  library  being  built  at  Reading,  some  additional 
provision  would  be  requisite,  particularly  in  respect  of 
seminar  rooms. 

Toronto  University  Library. 

At  the  date  of  our  visit  to  Toronto  University,  the 
Library  was  in  the  builders'  hands.  An  important 
extension  was  being  made.  This  extension  includes  (a) 
a  stack-room  which  will  enable  250,000  volumes  to  be 
stored,  or  about  twice  as  many  as  the  present  number  of 
volumes  in  the  Library ;  (b)  administrative  offices, 
cataloguing  room,  &c.;  and  (c]  a  reading  room  (about 
60  feet  by  30)  for  professors.  At  Toronto,  men  students 
and  women  students  have  separate  reading  rooms.  On  the 
top  floor  of  the  new  building,  there  are  about  twelve 
seminar  rooms,  while  the  University  Press  and  a  book- 
bindery  are  given  quarters  in  the  basement.  The  Report 
of  the  Board  of  Governors  of  Toronto  University  for  the 
year  ending  3oth  June  1909  shews  (pp.  63,  65,  69 — 70) 
that  expenditure  on  the  Library  for  1908 — 9  was 
equivalent  to  about  £3,077.  Details  were  as  follows  : 
maintenance  of  building  £197;  books  and  periodicals, 
&c.  £2,880.  The  Librarian  and  his  staff  of  ten  persons 
accounted,  in  addition,  for  an  expenditure  of  about  £i, 680. 

Cornell  University  Library. 

The  Library  occupies  a  commanding  position  at  the 
south-west  corner  of  the  campus,  and  its  lofty  tower  is 
conspicuous  among  the  University  buildings.  The 


LIBRARIES.  113 

Library  building  was  presented  and  endowed*  in  1891 
by  the  Hon.  Henry  W.  Sage  upon  the  twenty-fourth 
anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  University. 

The  extreme  dimensions  of  the  building  are  170  feet 
by  153  feet.  "The  general  outlines  are  somewhat  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  the  book-stacks  occupying  the  southern 
and  western  arms,  the  reading  rooms  the  eastern,  while 
the  northern  provides  accommodation  for  the  offices  of 
administration,  the  White  Library,  and  seven  seminary 
rooms."  The  building  is  of  stone,  and  is  fireproof.  Apart 
from  porch,  entrance  hall,  and  cloak  rooms,  it  includes 
(a)  general  reading  room,  126  feet  by  66  feet.  Seats  are 
provided  for  220  readers,  allowing  to  each  a  desk  2  feet 
by  2  feet  10  inches.  Around  the  walls  are  cases  for 
a  permanent  reference  library  of  8,000  volumes,  within 
reach  of  all  readers.  At  one  end  is  the  delivery  desk, 
communicating  with  the  stack-rooms.  (fr)  periodicals 
room,  50  feet  by  21.  There  are  wall  bookcases  with 
capacity  for  6,750  volumes,  (c)  Librarian's  room  and 
cataloguing  room  (45  feet  by  22).  (d]  the  President 
White  Historical  Library,  disposed  in  a  special  room,  on 
the  alcove  system,  with  galleries.  (e)  seminar  rooms 
for  Philosophy,  European  History,  American  History, 
Classics,  Modern  Languages,  English,  and  Economics. 
Each  seminar  room  has  its  own  set  of  reference  books. 
(J]  book-stacks  (south  and  west)  with  capacity  for 
400,000  volumes,  the  whole  building  having  capacity  for 
475,000  volumes.  The  stacks  are  divided  into  seven 
stories,  each  seven  feet  high,  and  the  fall  of  the  ground 
made  it  possible  so  to  build  them  that  the  delivery  desk  in 
the  general  reading  room  is  at  the  vertical  middle  of  the 
stacks.  Hence  "  in  either  stack  the  most  distant  book  is 
only  1 20  feet  from  the  centre  of  the  delivery  desk." 
(g)  basement,  containing  newspaper  stacks  and  patent 
collections,  an  open-shelf  circulating  library,  and  a  lecture 
room  with  seating  capacity  for  240  persons. 

*The  endowment  was  nearly  ^60,000,  "  the  income  to  be  used  only  for  the 
purchase  of  books."  We  were  informed  that  the  total  endowment  is  now  about 

£  1 60,000. 


1 14  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

The  Library  is  open  from  8  a.m.  to  10.45  P-m- 
It  appears  to  be  greatly  used,  and  to  be  admirably 
administered.  The  members  of  the  Deputation  who 
inspected  it  were  much  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  the 
University  Librarian,  Mr.  G.  W.  Harris,  Ph.  B. 

The  Librarian's  Report  for  1908-9  states  that  the 
Library  then  contained  369,051  volumes,  and  55,000 
pamphlets.  Additions  during  the  year  had  included 
15,413  volumes  and  2,000  pamphlets.  In  regard  to 
finance,  "  the  sum  available  for  the  increase  of  the 
Library"  in  1909-10  was  about  £3,480.  About  £840 
is  spent  on  periodicals  alone.  The  Librarian  mentions 
that  a  course  of  lectures  is  regularly  given  on  the  use  of 
books,  and  another  course  on  general  bibliography.  The 
Library  is  administered  by  a  special  Council,  consisting  of 
the  President  of  the  University,  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  4  representatives  of  the  University  Faculty, 
and  the  Librarian.  The  Library  Staff  includes  the 
Librarian  and  about  20  assistants.* 

The  University  also  possesses  the  Goldwin  Smith 
Hall  Library,  the  Law  Library,  and  the  Barnes  Reference 
Library,  which  are  separately  housed. 

Concluding  Observations. 

It  is  scarcely  the  duty  of  the  Deputation  to  recom- 
mend to  the  Council  a  particular  policy  with  regard  to 
the  existing  Library  at  University  College,  Reading,  or 
with  regard  to  the  erection  of  a  new  Library  building. 
Our  opportunities  for  inquiry  were  necessarily  limited, 
and  in  the  event  of  the  project  of  a  new  Library  being 
undertaken  at  Reading,  the  whole  subject  should  receive 
further  and  thorough  investigation.  We  content  ourselves 
with  calling  attention  to  several  points,  the  importance  of 
which  was  suggested  to  us,  or  reinforced,  by  our  inspections. 

We  endorse  to  the  full  all  that  has  been  said  in 
the  Report  of  the  Council  of  University  College, 

•*Many  particulars  in  this  section  have  been  obtained  from  the  Cornell  University 
Register,  1909-10;  the  Librarian's  Report  1908-9;  and  from  the  published 
report  of  "  Exercises  at  the  opening  of  the  Library  Building,  Cornell  University, 

1891." 


LIBRARIES.  115 

Reading,  mentioned  at  the  beginning  of  this  section, 
concerning  the  urgency  and  seriousness  of  the  Library 
question.  It  is  proved  by  experience  at  Reading 
and  elsewhere  that  a  University  institution  is  at  a 
grave  disadvantage  unless  it  possesses  a  really  ample 
and  comprehensive  Library:  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
possession  of  such  a  Library  strengthens  the  work  and 
attractiveness  of  the  institution  at  every  point.  Further, 
we  attach  importance  to  the  following  considerations:  (a) 
The  Library  should  occupy  a  central  position  in  relation 
to  the  departmental  buildings  of  the  College,  (b)  It 
should  include  a  large  reading  room,  within  which  should 
be  kept,  accessible  to  readers,  an  ample  collection  of 
reference  and  other  books,  (c)  The  fire-proof  book-stack 
system  should  be  adopted  as  a  means  of  storing  con- 
veniently and  safely  the  books  not  placed  in  the  reading 
rooms.  (*/)  There  should  be  a  room  for  the  special  use 
of  professors  and  lecturers.  (e)  There  should  be  a 
room  for  periodicals,  and  rooms  for  seminar  and  special 
studies,  (f]  There  should  be  good  office  accommodation 
for  the  Library  staff. 

We  recognise  that  the  provision  of  a  Library  with 
these  features  would  be  a  costly  undertaking,  but 
we  are  of  opinion  that  the  problem  will  not  otherwise  be 
ultimately  solved.  We  do  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the 
maintenance  of  such  a  Library  would  be  a  considerable 
annual  charge,  apart  from  cost  of  books,  and  we 
therefore  hope  that  in  building  it  care  would  be  taken  to 
restrict  the  sum  spent  on  structure  to  the  lowest  reasonable 
dimensions,  and  to  reserve  if  possible  a  substantial  sum  in 
order  to  secure  a  permanent  income  from  endowment. 


1 1 6  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

B. 

NOTE    ON    THE    TEACHING    OF    DOMESTIC    SCIENCE    TO 
WOMEN  IN  CANADA. 

In  the  Universities  of  Canada,  and  also  in  those  of 
the  United  States,  much  attention  is  now  given  to  the 
training  of  women  in  Domestic  or  Household  Science,  or 
"  Home  Economics."  The  object  aimed  at  can  be 
stated  simply.  It  is  to  improve  the  standards  and 
conditions  of  life  in  the  home.  Skill  in  the  art  of 
managing  a  household  is  the  outcome  not  merely  of 
happy  personal  accident — though  the  personal  element 
must  always  count  for  much — but  also  of  right  know- 
ledge and  right  principles  of  application  ;  in  other  words 
of  right  training.  Everywhere,  both  in  the  old  countries 
and  in  the  new,  home-making  is  "  the  largest  single 
industry";  it  is  a  province  within  which  women  are 
supreme;  and  hence  there  is  a  wise  tendency  in  educational 
policy,  in  England  as  in  America,  to  pay  increased  heed 
to  these  considerations  in  planning  the  education  of  girls 
and  women.  The  difficulty  of  obtaining  domestic 
servants  in  Canada  and  the  United  States  invests  the 
problem  in  those  countries  with  peculiar  significance. 
The  competency  of  the  wife  and  mother,  of  the  woman 
housekeeper,  is  nowhere  a  more  important  condition  of 
social  happiness  and  well-being  than  in  scattered  rural 
communities.  Accordingly,  just  as  Agricultural  Colleges 
have  arisen  in  America  with  the  object  of  training  men 
to  be  better  farmers,  so  Institutes  and  Departments  of 
Home  Science  have  arisen  more  recently  with  the  object 
of  training  women  to  be  better  home-makers.  Thus  at 
Guelph,  "  the  Home  Economics  Department  has  two 
objects  in  view.  The  one  to  bring  to  the  vocation  of 
home-making  the  same  kind  of  help  which  the  Ontario 
Agricultural  College  brings  to  the  business  of  farming  ; 
the  other  to  provide  for  the  adequate  training  of  teachers 
of  Home  Science  for  our  public  schools." 

We  found  provision  for  the  training  of  women  in 
Home  Science  at  most  of  the  institutions  visited.  Our 
opportunities,  however,  for  close  investigation  of  its 


DOMESTIC    SCIENCE.  117 

character  and  scope,  were  restricted  to  two  Canadian 
instances,  those  of  Macdonald  and  Guelph  ;  and  it  may 
be  noted  that  in  each  case  the  provision  had  been  made 
possible  by  the  munificence  of  Sir  William  Macdonald, 
in  pursuance  of  his  policy  for  rural  betterment — "  better 
farmers,  better  wives,  and  better  teachers."* 

The  School  of  Household  Science  at  Macdonald  (College. 

The  School  occupies  part  of  the  Main  Building. 
Students  of  Household  Science  receive  instruction  in 
Chemistry,  Physics,  and  other  scientific  and  applied 
subjects,  in  the  College  departments.  The  accommodation 
special  to  themselves  is  as  follows  ;  (a)  two  class  kitchens 
equipped  for  56  students,  with  a  pantry  attached,  and 
also  a  small  dining  room  for  lessons  in  table-setting 
and  waiting  (fr)  class  laundry  for  24  students  (c) 
hand-sewing  room  for  30  students  (d]  dressmaking 
and  millinery  rooms  (e)  house-decoration  room  (f) 
offices  for  instructors,  store  rooms  (g)  model  apart- 
ments consisting  of  two  bedrooms,  bath  room,  dining 
room,  living  room,  kitchen,  and  pantries,  intended  to 
afford  facilities  for  practical  work  in  housekeeping. 

The  School  is  admirably  planned  and  equipped.  In 
liberality  of  space,  number  of  rooms,  excellence  and 
ingenuity  of  fittings  and  appliances,  the  standards  appeared 
to  us  to  be  altogether  beyond  the  customary  standards  in 
England.  Cooking  is  taught  by  coal-fire,  gas,  and 
electricity,  and  by  the  "  fireless  cooker."  The  last 
consists  of  a  chest  in  three  compartments,  each  containing 
a  vessel  packed  in  cushions  of  asbestos  wool  or  a  similar 
non-conductor.  A  chicken  put  into  boiling  water  is 
cooked  in  one  of  these  vessels  in  six  hours.  Each  student 
in  the  kitchen  has  a  small  gas  stove  before  her  on  the 
bench,  and,  in  the  bench  also,  a  private  drawer  for 
smaller  utensils,  and  a  second  drawer  and  a  small  cupboard, 
which  she  shares  with  her  neighbour,  for  utensils  of 
larger  size.  The  pantry,  which  is  beautifully  tiled, 
contains  a  large  refrigerator  constructed  of  opalescent 
glass  framed  in  nickelled  metal.  The  laundry  is  fitted 

*  See  previously  pp.  I  2,  20. 


1 1 8  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

with  fixed  tubs  of  glazed  earthenware  and  a  drying  cup- 
board. There  are  wringers  and  a  mangle,  but  no  other 
washing  machinery.  Irons  are  heated  by  electricity  for 
convenience,*  but  there  is  a  stove  for  teaching  purposes. 
The  house-decoration  room  contains  samples  of  wall 
papers,  carpets,  and  fabrics.  The  model  apartments  are, 
in  effect,  a  self-contained  flat  of  attractive  design.  The 
Deputation  were  kindly  invited  by  Miss  Fisher,  Acting 
Head  of  the  School  of  Household  Science,  to  take 
luncheon  there.  All  arrangements,  preparation  of  food, 
menu,  decoration,  serving,  and  waiting  were  carried  out 
by  students  of  the  School,  and  were  in  a  marked  degree 
creditable. 

The  staff  of  the  School  consists  of  the  Acting  Head, 
who  is  also  Assistant  Professor  of  Household  Science,  an 
Instructor  in  Sewing  and  Dressmaking,  and  two  Instructors 
and  an  Assistant  in  Household  Science. 

There  are  two  main  courses  of  instruction,  (i)  A 
two  years'  course  for  professional  housekeepers.  (2)  A  one 
year's  course  for  "home-makers." 

(i)  Candidates  for  admission  to  the  housekeeper's 
course  must  not  be  less  than  23  years  of  age,  and  they 
must  have  good  health  and  a  fair  knowledge  of  English 
and  Mathematics.  Not  more  than  i  2  students  are  trained 
in  the  School  at  one  time.  The  first  year's  work  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  Home-makers  (see  below).  Any 
student  who,  after  three  months  in  the  School,  is  considered 
to  be  unsuitable,  is  asked  to  withdraw.  The  second  year 
is  devoted  to  special  work  bearing  on  housekeeping  for 
large  numbers  from  a  business  point  of  view,  and  it 
includes  much  practical  work,  such  as  marketing  and 
taking  charge  of  stock  rooms.  Each  student  spends  one 
month  in  the  Women's  Hall  of  Residence  in  order  to 
gain  practical  experience  under  the  Housekeeper,  who 
provides  for  several  hundred  people  at  each  meal.  "The 

*  In  England  it  would  probably  be  considered  unpractical  to  accustom  students 
to  cook  and  heat  by  electricity.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  electric  power 
is  much  cheaper  in  Canada,  and  is  being  increasingly  used  there  for  domestic 

purposes. 


DOMESTIC    SCIENCE.  119 

Professional  Housekeeper's  Certificate,"  awarded  in 
connexion  with  this  course,  is  not  granted  until  the 
candidate  has  completed  six  months'  successful  work  as  a 
housekeeper  at  an  institution.  The  certificates  awarded 
do  not  qualify  for  teaching. 

(2)  The  "  Home-maker's  course  "  seeks  to  train 
girls  for  the  duties  of  the  home.  It  is  therefore  planned 
"  to  give  the  student  a  good  foundation  in  the  different 
branches  of  ordinary  household  work,  supplemented  by 
those  scientific  studies  which  have  a  bearing  on  the  subjects 
of  cookery,  laundry,  hygiene,  &c.  Above  all,  it  is  desired 
to  awaken  a  girl's  interest  in  the  wider  questions  of  sound 
bodies,  wholesome  dwellings,  and  comfortable  lives." 
Candidates  for  admission  to  this  course  must  be  not  less 
than  1 8  years  of  age.  The  subjects  taught  are  Cookery, 
Dairying,  English,  Home-nursing,  Horticulture,  House- 
hold furnishing,  Household  management,  Sanitation, 
Laundry,  Household  handicraft,  Millinery,  Needlework, 
Physical  training,  Poultry,  Practical  Housekeeping  in  the 
Apartment  (one  week),  and  as  much  science  as  has  a 
useful  bearing  on  these  subjects.  The  certificates  awarded 
do  not  qualify  for  teaching. 

There  are,  in  addition,  shorter  courses,  (a)  for 
Teachers.  Instruction  is  given  in  simple  cookery  and 
needlework  with  the  object  of  helping  teachers  to:  arouse 
an  interest  in  household  study  amongst  their  pupils. 
(b)  for  students  who  cannot  stay  in  the  College  longer 
than  three  months.  The  training  given  is  almost  wholly 
practical,  and  three  such  courses  are  given  yearly. 
Candidates  must  be  not  less  than  18  years  of  age.  No 
certificate  is  awarded. 

In  admitting  students  to  any  of  the  courses,  preference 
is  given  to  candidates  from  the  rural  districts  of  the 
Province  of  Quebec,  the  Maritime  Provinces,  or  Eastern 
Ontario.  Tuition  is  free  to  residents  in  the  Province  of 
Quebec;  other  Canadians  pay  £15  a  year,  non-Canadians 
£20.  There  is  a  laboratory  fee  of  ^2.  The  fee  for  the 
short  courses  is  £5,  but  these  also  are  free  to  students 


120  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

belonging   to   the  farming  community  of   the  Province 
of  Quebec.* 

'The    Department    of   Home    Economics,    Guelph,    (Ontario 
^Agricultural  College). 

The  Department  occupies  the  first  floor  and  most  of 
the  ground  floor  of  the  Macdonald  Institute,  a  massive 
building  erected  in  1905,  the  gift  of  Sir  William 
Macdonald,  in  which  instruction  is  also  given  in  Nature 
Study  and  Manual  Training.  The  equipment,  though 
excellent,  is  not  so  elaborate  as  at  St.  Anne's.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  would  appear  that  the  students  are  of 
better  quality  than  those  at  St.  Anne's,  and  that  the 
conditions  of  entrance  are  more  severe.  We  were 
indebted  to  Miss  Watson,  who  directs  the  Department, 
for  a  very  clear  and  interesting  explanation  of  its 
work  which  she  gave  us  at  the  time  of  our  inspection. 
Miss  Watson  is  assisted  by  a  special  staff  of  eight  persons, 
namely,  Instructors  (3)  in  Normal  Methods,  Domestic 
Science,  and  Domestic  Art  ;  Lecturers  (2)  in  Physiology, 
Home  Nursing,  &c.  ;  Demonstrators  (3)  in  Domestic 
Science,  Laundry  and  Household  Administration,  and 
Domestic  Art. 

The  accommodation  includes  (a)  two  class  kitchens 
equipped  for  24  students  (b)  practice  kitchen  for  16 
(c)  small  dining  room  for  lessons  in  table-setting  and 
waiting  (d]  pantry,  cold  storage  rooms,  offices,  etc. 
(e)  lecture  rooms  (f)  class  laundry  for  1 2  students 
(g)  dress-making  room  for  14  students  (b]  sewing  and 
millinery  room  for  18  students  (j)  model  apartments, 
comprising  two  bedrooms,  bath-room,  living  room, 
kitchen,  and  pantries,  for  practical  work  in  housekeeping. 
The  ordinary  College  departments  supply  scientific 
instruction.  There  is  a  library  in  the  Institute  intended 
specially  for  Home  Economics  students. 

Adjacent  to  the  Institute  is  Macdonald  Hall,  a  large 
building  in  Elizabethan  style,  erected  in  1904  at  a  cost  of 
about  £20,000  by  Sir  William  Macdonald.  The  Hall  is 

*  For  further  particulars  as  to  the  School  of  Household  Science,  see  the  Macdonald 
College  Announcement  for  the  current  year. 


DOMESTIC    SCIENCE.  121 

the  women  students'  residence.  It  contains  rooms  for 
110  students,  and  also  a  gymnasium,  dining  room, 
reception  room,  and  parlour.  The  proximity  of  Hall  and 
Institute  has  proved  highly  advantageous  in  the  organisa- 
tion of  practical  training  in  housekeeping. 

The  courses  of  instruction  provided  by  the  Department 
are  of  two  kinds  (A)  Professional    (B)   Non-professional. 

(A)   The  two  Professional  Courses  each  occupy  two 
years. 

(1)  formal    Course  for    Teachers.      Candidates  for 
admission  come  from  the  high  schools  ;   they  must  be  at 
least  1 8  years  of  age,  and  must   have   passed   the  Junior 
Matriculation,  or  Junior  Leaving   Examination,  of   the 
Province  of  Ontario.     The  object   of  the   course   is  "  to 
lay    a    thorough    foundation    for   the    special     work     of 
teaching  Domestic  Science  in  the  schools  of  our  country. 
The    Institute    cannot    make    the    teacher  ;    it   furnishes 
opportunities  and  favourable  conditions  to  earnest  students  ; 
the   rest   lies  with   the   student.      Any    woman    entering 
upon  it  should  have  a  healthy  body  and  sound  mind  and 
a    high    moral    purpose."     A    Teacher's    Certificate     in 
Domestic    Science    is    awarded    in    connexion    with    the 
course. 

(2)  The     Housekeeper      (Bourse.       The      course     is 
designed    to    aid    those    women    who    desire  to  become 
professional  housekeepers.      Only  a  few  such  students  are 
received  ;  at  the  time  of  our  visit   the   number  was  less 
than     12.       Candidates    for    admission    should  be   about 
30  years  of  age,  of  fair  education  and  sound   health,  and 
should    have    had    considerable    experience    in    practical 
housework.      The  first  year's   work   is   the   same   as   that 
for   the    Normal    Course.      The   second    year   is   devoted 
to    training    in    institution    management,    and    with    this 
object  each  student   is  associated  for  a   period   with   the 
management    of   the   Women's   Hall   of  Residence.      At 
the   end   of    the   second   year,   a    certificate    is  given    to 
students  who   satisfy   the   prescribed   tests,   but   the   final 


1 22  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

certificate  is  not  granted  until  proof  is  given  of  six 
months'  successful  experience  as  housekeeper  of  an 
institution. 

(B)  The  Home-maker  Course  is  the  chief  of  the 
non-professional  courses.  It  occupies  one  year,  and  is 
intended  for  young  women  with  little  or  no  experience 
in  household  affairs.  Candidates  for  admission  must  be 
at  least  17  years  of  age,  and  have  passed  the  High  School 
Entrance  Examination  or  must  satisfy  a  similar  test.  A 
Diploma  is  awarded.  The  following  are  the  subjects  of 
the  course: — 

Physiology  and  Hygiene  i  period  weekly 

Plain  Cooking      -  6        ,,  „ 

Foods  i        „  „ 

Sanitation    -  -      i        ,,  ,, 

Household  Administration  2        ,,  ,, 

Dietetics     -  -      i        „  ,,          i   term 

Child  Study  -      i        ,,  „          i      „ 

Home  Ethics  -     Lectures. 

Art  at  Home  -      2  periods  weekly 

Home  Nursing  and  Emergencies  i  period  „         2  terms 

Laundry     -  -      3  periods  „  ,, 

Sewing  4 

Practice  Work     -  7        ,,  ,, 

English  -      2 

There  are  also  three  courses  annually  in  Domestic 
Science,  each  occupying  three  months  ;  two  courses 
annually  in  Advanced  Sewing,  of  similar  duration  ;  and 
certain  optional  courses.  These  shorter  courses  are 
popular  with  those  who  are  about  to  marry. 

The  following  details  in  connexion  with  the  Home- 
makers'  course  were  specially  noted.  (a)  An  excellent 
series  of  printed  cards  informing  the  student  of  the 
necessary  materials  and  the  exact  process  to  be  followed 
in  every  kind  of  house-cleaning,  (b)  Simple  system  of 
household  accounts.  It  consists  of  a  day  book  for 
entering  money  received,  items  of  expenditure,  and 
balance  in  hand,  in  parallel  columns,  and  a  scheme  of 


DOMESTIC    SCIENCE.  123 

alphabetical  headings  under  which  expenditure  is  classi- 
fied. The  system  is  practical  and  free  from  technicalities. 
(c)  Only  plain  cooking  is  taught,  "  nothing  beyond  a 
Christmas  cake  or  extra  good  pie.'  (d)  Students  are 
made  acquainted  with  as  much  simple  labour-saving 
machinery  as  possible.  (e)  The  co-operation  of  the 
Hall  of  Residence  is  essential  to  the  success  of  the 
course.  Every  student  gains  there  a  week's  practical 
experience  in  housekeeping,  (f)  Students  who  shirk  the 
prescribed  house-cleaning  duties  make  good  their  neglect 
during  hours  of  leisure. 

The  tuition  fees  for  all  regular  Home  Economics 
Courses  are  £3  a  term  for  Ontario  students,  and  double 
that  amount  for  all  others  admitted.* 

Concluding  Observations. 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  general  aim  and  character 
the  courses  of  instruction  in  Household  Science  at 
Macdonald  College  and  at  Guelph  are  very  similar.  As 
far  as  we  could  judge,  the  courses  are  well  suited  to  Can- 
adian conditions,  and  are  such  as  to  promote  the  standards 
of  efficiency  in  home  management.  The  whole  problem, 
it  seemed  to  us,  is  treated  more  seriously  and  thoroughly 
in  Canada  than  in  England.  No  doubt  the  relative 
simplicity  of  the  Canadian  social  order  facilitates  treatment, 
for  owing  to  that  simplicity  the  same  general  type  of 
domestic  training  answers  the  needs  of  the  majority  of 
women.  But  in  England,  although  all  kinds  of  domestic 
training  may  have  the  same  basis,  the  wide  differences  in 
economic  status  and  social  habit  imply  the  existence  of 
very  different  kinds  of  domestic  function  among  women  ; 
and  the  courses  of  domestic  training  provided  must 
recognise  these  differences  and  be  influenced  by  them,  if 
they  are  to  commend  themselves.  If  the  reaction  from  a 
type  of  education  for  girls,  which  was  originally  devised 
in  imitation  of  masculine  requirements,  is  to  produce  a 
good  effect,  those  Universities  which  include  work  of  the 
kind  within  their  mission  must  give  far  more  attention 

*  For  further  particulars    as  to  the  Department  of  Home   Economics,  see  the 
Calendar  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College  for  the  current  year. 


1 24  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

than  hitherto  to  this  question  of  domestic  training.  They 
must  be  prepared  to  put  thought  and  energy  into  their 
schemes,  and  to  provide  a  training  which  ministers  to  a 
definite  and  felt  want  in  society.  The  mere  multiplication 
of  sporadic  courses  in  cookery,  laundry,  dress-making,  and 
hygiene,  is  no  substitute  for  systematic  and  intelligent  train- 
ing. Courses  in  single  subjects  may  answer  a  useful 
purpose  at  one  end  of  the  scale,  just  as  the  elaborate  and 
highly  scientific  course  in  Home  Science  and  Household 
Economics  recently  instituted  at  King's  College,  London, 
is  believed  to  render  most  valuable  service  at  the  other 
end.  But  throughout  the  country  there  are  a  great  many 
girls  of  good  intelligence  who,  after  leaving  a  secondary  or 
high  school,  would  probably  welcome  a  training  differently 
planned.  For  them  the  ideal  "Home-makers"  course  has 
yet  to  be  devised,  although  the  fact  that  several  insti- 
tutions are  doing  good  work  is  not  overlooked.  The 
ideal  course,  it  seems  to  us,  would  occupy  one  year  ;  it 
would  be  given  in  University  surroundings  ;  it  would 
treat  the  basic  or  practical  subjects  with  thoroughness, 
but  it  would  not  attempt  more  than  a  few  ;  it  would  be 
inspired  by  a  more  liberal  and  intellectual  spirit  than  is 
commonly  found  in  courses  of  domestic  training;  by 
utilising  the  resources  of  the  University  or  College,  it 
would  include  Literature,  Art,  Music,  or  Science  in  the 
scheme  of  studies  ;  it  would  pay  particular  attention  not 
merely  to  the  so-called  "practical"  side  of  home  manage- 
ment, but  also  to  those  aspects  of  equal  importance  which 
deal  with  principles  of  taste  and  with  refinement ;  and,  in 
brief,  it  would  carry  forward  and  deepen  the  general 
education  and  culture  of  the  student,  while  associating  with 
it  a  training  for  the  tasks  of  adult  womanhood.  It  is 
obvious  that  no  course  of  this  kind  could  be  given  with 
success  unless  the  teaching  staff  commanded,  in  a  measure 
at  present  not  usual,  technical  competence  and  cultivation 
of  mind.  The  qualifications  wanted  in  the  teacher  who 
directs  such  a  course  are  not  so  much  manual  dexterity  or 
a  narrow  expertness,  as  a  strong  and  cultivated  intelligence, 
a  grasp  of  the  best  methods,  and  a  wide  social  experience. 


DOMESTIC    SCIENCE.  125 

Home-makers'  courses,  if  given  under  University 
conditions,  would  quickly  win  popularity,  and  we  believe 
that  many  girls  would  take  advantage  of  them,  even  if 
they  intended  also  to  equip  themselves  for  professional 
careers. 

University  College,  Reading,  is  well  fitted  to  under- 
take a  Home-makers'  course  of  the  kind  described.  Its 
buildings  include  small  but  well-designed  premises  for 
domestic  training  ;  and  these  premises  are  situated  in 
close  proximity  to  the  new  St.  Andrew's  Hall  of 
Residence  for  women.  It  might  be  arranged  that  in 
this  Hall,  following  the  precedents  found  at  Guelph  and 
at  Macdonald  College,  the  students  should  gain  their 
practical  experience  in  housekeeping.  The  fact  that  the 
College  includes  Faculties  of  Letters  and  Science,  and 
Departments  of  Fine  Art  and  Music,  would  facilitate  the 
introduction  of  a  suitable  and  varied  element  of  general 
culture  into  the  curriculum.  A  curriculum  could 
without  difficulty  be  organised  so  as  to  include  a  number 
of  options  and  a  core  of  essentials.  It  would  probably 
be  wise,  in  view  of  the  restricted  scope  of  the  present 
premises  available  for  domestic  training,  to  limit  strictly 
the  number  of  students  to  be  admitted  to  the  course. 
Two  other  points  of  importance  should  be  mentioned, 
(i)  In  the  event  of  such  a  course  being  undertaken,  an 
Advisory  Committee  of  ladies  should  be  constituted  in 
connexion  with  it.  This  Committee  should  include 
representative  Headmistresses,  and  other  ladies  able  to 
speak  with  special  authority  on  this  branch  of  women's 
education.  (2)  The  other  point  is  one  which  has 
several  times  been  emphasised  in  the  pages  of  this 
Report.  It  is  that  no  scheme  of  the  kind  indicated 
can  be  usefully  attempted  unless  the  teaching  resources 
are  adequate.  As  stated  above,  these  resources  must 
include  both  technical  competence,  social  experience, 
and  cultivation  of  mind. 


1 26  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

.  C. 

NOTE  ON  RESIDENCE  SYSTEMS  FOR  STUDENTS. 

It  is  well  known  that  University  College,  Reading, 
possesses  an  ampler  provision  of  residential  halls  for 
students  than  is  found  at  any  of  the  other  new  Universities 
and  University  Colleges.  The  existence  of  this  provision, 
which  has  become  a  distinguishing  feature  in  the  life  and 
character  of  the  College,  may  be  ascribed  to  several  causes. 
In  the  first  place,  the  College  at  Reading,  as  already 
observed  (p.  92),  is  not  situated  at  the  heart  of  a  great 
city  or  urban  district,  constituting  an  almost  exclusive 
source  for  the  supply  of  students.  Large  numbers  of  its 
students  come  from  the  counties  around,  from  other  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  from  the  dominions  beyond  the  sea,  and 
from  foreign  countries.  For  such  students,  both  men  and 
women,  suitable  residential  arrangements  are  indispensable, 
and  the  idea  of  a  group  of  halls,  situated  at  an  easy 
distance  from  University  College  on  the  one  hand  and 
the  open  country  on  the  other,  is  less  difficult  of 
accomplishment  in  Reading  than  in  a  great  city  with 
far-extended  suburbs.  In  the  second  place,  the  College 
has  consistently  acted  upon  the  principle  that  University 
education  is  the  product  mainly  of  two  things  :  the  right 
kind  of  teaching  and  the  right  kind  of  corporate  association 
and  corporate  life.  It  was  the  latter  aspect  of  the  question 
which  the  late  Lord  Wantage  had  in  mind  when,  speaking 
as  President  of  the  College  in  1896,  he  said:  "We  have 
an  object  worthy  of  the  highest  consideration — it  is  to 
establish  a  College  with  the  qualities  and  character  of  a 
University."  "  In  endeavouring  to  carry  out  his  views" 
said  Lady  Wantage  at  the  opening  of  Wantage  Hall  in 
1908  "my  object  has  been  not  only  to  provide  a 
commodious  residence  for  the  hitherto  scattered  students, 
but  by  bringing  them  together  under  one  roof  to  create 
a  true  corporate  life,  and  to  promote  what  may  be  called 
a  university  spirit."  It  may  be  said,  briefly,  that  these 
ideas  have  inspired  and  determined  residential  policy  at 
Reading.  Lastly,  the  College  has  most  fortunately  been 


RESIDENCE    SYSTEMS.  127 

enabled,  while  still  young,  to  carry  these  ideas  into  effect. 
Wantage  Hall,  the  gift  and  foundation  of  Lady  Wantage, 
is  probably  the  most  admirably  designed  residential  hall 
for  University  men  outside  Oxford  and  Cambridge. 
There  is  a  second  hall  for  men  (St.  Patrick's)  which  it  is 
hoped,  may  before  long  be  rebuilt  on  a  more  commodious 
scale.  Of  the  two  halls  for  women,  one  (St.  George's) 
is  a  specially  designed  building  erected  some  years  ago, 
while  the  other  (St.  Andrew's)  is  about  to  move  into  new 
and  larger  premises,  situated  in  delightful  grounds. 
Altogether  the  four  halls  will  provide  by  Easter,  1911, 
accommodation  for  more  than  200  students,  the 
proportions  of  men  and  women  students  being  approx- 
imately equal.  All  the  halls  are  situated  near  to  the  College 
Recreation  Ground.  Further,  a  considerable  body  of 
students  reside  in  private  houses,  controlled  and  supervised 
by  the  College.  Two  characteristics  of  the  residential 
halls  may  be  particularly  noted.  First,  that  the  cost  of 
living  is  cheaper  and  the  character  of  the  life  on  a  simpler 
scale  than  at  the  ancient  Universities ;  the  other  that  all 
teaching  is  given  exclusively  at  University  College.  Care 
has  been  taken  to  guard  against  any  risk  of  the 
development-  of  the  halls  into  minor  and  competitive 
teaching  institutions. 

The  residence  systems  for  students  in  Canada  and  in 
the  United  States  did  not  appear  to  us  to  present  many 
features  of  importance  which  might  profitably  be  incor- 
porated into  policy  at  home.  The  general  effect  of  our 
inquiries  and  inspections  was  to  strengthen  our  belief  in  the 
soundness  of  the  policy  adopted  at  Reading,  both  in 
regard  to  its  general  aim,  and  in  regard  to  its  execution 
in  detail.  We  were  impressed  by  the  opinion,  which 
we  encountered  everywhere  but  particularly  in  the  larger 
institutions,  that  the  question  of  the  residence  of  students 
and  their  corporate  life  outside  hours  of  instruction 
is  of  grave  and  growing  importance.  The  idea  that 
a  University  need  only  carry  on  teaching  and  research, 
leaving  its  students  to  live  as  they  please,  is  no  longer 
held  by  practical  men.  Such  an  idea  could  not  survive 


128  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

the  admission  of  women  students  to  the  University  as 
well  as  men,  nor  is  it  applicable  to  Universities  which 
count  their  students  not  by  hundreds  but  by  thousands. 
Unless  this  side  also  of  University  education  receives 
the  care  and  attention  which  is  its  due,  resultant  evil 
must  be  the  penalty  of  neglect.  Upon  this  aspect  of  the 
question  American  testimony  is  decisive.* 

The  Macdonald  and  Guelph  Colleges  are  purely 
residential.  The  women's  hall  of  residence  at  Guelph, 
known  as  Macdonald  Hall,  provides  for  1 1  o  students,  and 
is  an  admirable  building.  The  system  is  one  of  study 
bedrooms  with  a  common  dining  hall.  The  building 
includes  a  spacious  gymnasium.  At  McGill  University, 
we  inspected  the  Royal  Victoria  College  for  women, 
which  is  both  a  hall  of  residence  and  a  teaching 
institution.  There  is  a  small  hall  of  residence  for  men, 
and  more  provision  is  contemplated.  We  inspected  the 
men  students'  Union  House,  which  has  about  600 
subscribing  members.  The  building  is  practically  a  club- 
house, and  is  well  designed  for  its  purpose.  At  Toronto, 
new  university  residences  were  opened  in  the  session 
1908-9.  Three  buildings,  forming  three  sides  of  a 
quadrangle,  were  erected,  each  able  to  receive  50  students, 
the  accommodation  being  partly  in  single  rooms,  and 
partly  in  suites  consisting  of  a  sitting  room  and  two 
bedrooms.  We  inspected  several  rooms  and  were 
favourably  impressed  by  them.  In  each  house  there  is 
also  a  common  room.  A  member  of  the  teaching  staff 
resides  in  each  house,  but  the  principle  of  student  self- 
government  is  developed  as  far  as  possible.  Meals  are 
not  taken  in  the  residence  houses,  but  in  a  common  dining 
hall. 

In  the  Universities  of  the  United  States,  we  came 
into  contact  with  the  dormitory  system  and  the  fraternity 
house  system.  Both  systems  represent  an  attempt  to 
provide  students  with  an  alternative  more  comfortable 
than  the  frequently  unsatisfactory  boarding-houses  and 

*  Cp.      "  The  Re-organization  of  our  Colleges"  by  Clarence  F.  Birdseye,   (New 
York,  The  Baker  and  Taylor  Company). 


RESIDENCE    SYSTEMS.  129 

lodgings.  The  aim  has  been  to  introduce  into  their 
residential  experience  at  the  University  the  element  of 
home  life  and  corporate  association.  The  dormitory 
system  represents  the  contribution  of  the  university 
authorities  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  residence. 
Large  buildings  are  erected  in  which  students  have  their 
private  rooms  for  study  and  sleeping,  meals  being  taken 
in  a  University  hall,  in  which  several  hundred  men  can 
dine  simultaneously.  This  system  prevails  at  Harvard 
and  Yale  (where  there  are  no  fraternity  houses).  President 
Lowell  of  Harvard  informed  us  that  more  university 
dormitories  were  needed,  and  that  Americans  were 
increasingly  disposed  to  recognise  the  merits  of  the 
English  collegiate  system,  and  to  regret  the  haphazard 
residential  arrangements  which  vast  numbers  of  university 
men  in  America  are  obliged  to  accept.  Yet  the  problem 
of  building  sufficient  university  dormitories  is  formidable, 
since  "a  modern  dormitory  to  house  100  students  costs 
from  $100,000  to  $200,000,  or  even  more."* 

The  fraternity  houses  not  only  illustrate  the  American 
passion  for  organisation  and  for  ritual,  but  they  serve  as  a 
reminder  that,  if  Universities  neglect  the  residential 
problem,  the  students  themselves  (in  modern  as  in 
mediaeval  Universities)  may  find  solutions  for  it,  which  in 
their  turn  may  produce  difficulties  as  well  as  gains.  The 
fraternities  are  a  remarkable  feature  in  American  university 
life.  A  fraternity  is  a  private  fellowship  or  club,  usually 
known  by  the  names  of  two  or  three  letters  of  the  Greek 
alphabet,  which  may  have  branches  or  lodges  in  many 
Universities.  Frequently  they  establish  houses  of 
residence  for  their  members;  such  houses  are  numerous 
at  Cornell-}*  and  Wisconsin,  most  of  them  being  for  men 
though  some  are  for  women.  The  fraternity  buys  or  builds 
a  house  :  the  usual  number  of  students  living  in  one  such 
house  is  about  30;  and  the  management  is  exclusively  in  the 

*"  The  Re-organization  of  our  Colleges."   Birdseyc.      p.  98. 

f  We  were  informed  that  at  Cornell  about   600   men    live    in   fraternity  houses, 
while  the  rest,  constituting  the  great  majority   (2,500 — 3,000),  live  in   boarding 

houses  and  rooms. 


1 30  OTHER  UNIVERSITY  DEVELOPMENTS. 

hands  of  the  students  themselves.  Some  of  these  houses 
are  costly  undertakings,  and  may  represent  an  expenditure 
of  £  1 0,000  or  £  1 2, ooo.  The  bulk  of  the  capital  is  supplied 
by  the  old  members,  or  alumni,  of  the  fraternity,  who 
continue  to  take  part  in  its  affairs  long  after  they  have 
left  the  University.  "  The  spread  of  the  movement  has 
been  wonderful  and  inevitable.  There  are  about  370 
Colleges  and  Universities  which  contain  chapters  of  some 
fraternities,  and  in  many  of  these  institutions  the  houses 
of  the  fraternities  are  among  the  finest  in  the  town. 
Millions  of  dollars  have  been  thus  invested."* 

We  inspected  two  of  the  chief  fraternity  houses  at 
Cornell  University.  The  houses  were  admirably  designed 
and  more  than  comfortably  furnished.  They  might  be  best 
described  as  luxurious  club  houses.  It  is  easy  to  under- 
stand that  the  fraternity  tie  can  become  a  very  strong  one, 
and  that  these  institutions  by  reason  of  their  attractiveness, 
their  secret  ritual,  and  their  limited  membership,  are  often 
characterized  by  an  intense  vitality.  Nevertheless,  though 
the  fraternity  system  has  both  good  points  and  warm 
defenders,  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  should  be  the  object 
of  much  criticism.  The  fraternity  houses,  it  is  often 
said,  are  the  lounging  places  of  cliques.  Men  who  live 
in  them  are  seldom  strenuous  either  in  athletics  or  in 
studies.  They  are  too  comfortable  and  too  much  concerned 
with  the  narrow  circle  of  fraternity  interests.  Despite 
its  best  intentions,  we  are  told,  the  fraternity  system 
tends  to  withdraw  men  from  the  wider  interests  of  the 
University,  and  even  to  make  them  antagonistic  to  its 
spirit  and  unity.  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the 
increasing  strength  of  these  organisations  may  not  here- 
after prove  a  formidable  embarrassment  to  the  Universities 
which  harbour  them.  Whether  these  defects  and  risks  out- 
weigh the  obvious  attractions  of  the  system  from  the  point 
of  view  of  comfort  and  of  substituting  some  form  of  organ- 
ised corporate  life  for  the  casual  associations  of  the  lodging- 
house — often  the  sole  alternative — we  are  not  able  to  say. 
But  the  fraternity  system  deserves  attention,  if  only  because 

*  "The  Reorganisation  of  our  Colleges."      Birdseye,  pp.  99-100. 


RESIDENCE    SYSTEMS.  131 

it  shews  that  the  corporate  and  residential  welfare  of 
students  cannot  be  left  to  take  care  of  itself  without 
unforeseen  and  probably  embarrassing  consequences 
resulting. 


This  book  is  Dire     -  the  last  date  stamped  below 


S531 

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The  problem  of  ag- 
ricultural  educ.in 
America  and  in 
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